Bloodlines
by mcknz.blck
Summary: Harry's friends abandon him after his name comes out of the Goblet of Fire. He finds an unexpected ally and an underground secret society that shows him that not everything is what it seems.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: All characters, places, and anything familiar from the Harry Potter books and movies belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros.**

**A/N: Hi I'm currently writing a Twilight story and decided to try with a Harry Potter one. This is something of a preview. Hope everyone likes it.**

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_**Chapter 1**_

Harry sat alone by the Great Lake throwing stones in the water. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the problem he now found himself in.

His name came out of the Goblet of Fire. He should have seen it coming; after all, he had the worst luck in the world. He though that after the announcement of the tournament at the welcoming feast he was finally going to have a quiet year and watch from the sidelines, unlike the last three years.

Professor Dumbledore had made it final when he told him that there wasn't a way out of competing.

"I'm terribly sorry Harry but the parchment that came out of the goblet has your name in your handwriting—"

Barty Crouch had cleared his throat, "In the Wizarding World that makes it legally binding. The boy has to compete or lose his magic."

Harry had still been shocked on his way to the Gryffindor common room. It had crossed his mind just walking away from the entire mess but the thought of leaving his friends and heading back to his relatives made him discard the idea almost instantly.

He had walked into the common room and had noticed that while some people were celebrating others were looking at him with puzzled or hostile looks.

He had spotted his two best friends near a wall talking quietly and headed their way. The first thing Ron had asked him was how he had done it. At first he had seemed exited, if not a bit jealous praising him for managing to go over Dumbledore's age line.

"Blimey Harry you should have told me, we could have entered together, imagine all the fame and glory and the prize money…"

Hermione had just stayed silent through Ron's tirade with a suspicious glint in her eyes that had Harry quite confused.

Then she had scoffed, "Really Ron, he couldn't have done it without someone's help."

"But Hermione—" Harry had tried to explain.

"If you wanted to compete that badly you should have asked me."

Harry had watched with dawning horror as he finally understood what had his friend so upset.

"But I didn't do it. Why would I want to participate when you told me that people have died during the tournament?"

"Honestly Harry, Ron and I both know you're something of a thrill seeker, it was quite logical—"

"I can't believe you!" Harry practically screeched watching as Ron nodded his head in agreement to what Hermione was saying. He hated making a scene, but still all his anger and indignation came leaking out of his mouth.

"You're supposed to be my best friends. How can you think that?"

Harry hadn't waited for them to say anything else. He had stormed up the stairs to his room, going to bed early to avoid his roommates.

The next morning during breakfast he had found himself sitting alone in the Gryffindor table sitting as far away from Ron and Hermione as humanly possible. Hermione had been openly glaring at him, while Ron had just ignored him.

Students from every table had looked at him with accusing eyes, especially the Hufflepuff table, since Harry had stolen the rightful champion's spotlight.

Harry had left the Great Hall and had decided to head over to the lake where he could escape all the accusing glares.

He still couldn't believe his best friends thought he was a liar and a thrill seeker. He knew that he often found himself in precarious situations. But they knew quite well it wasn't because he searched for trouble, trouble often found him, leaving no other option but to try and get out of the problem by any means necessary.

He probably should have expected something like this from Ron. Hermione on the other hand had been a rather shocking surprise.

Still it hurt him deeply that they thought so lowly of him. The three of them had been through so much together the previous years. He always knew that Ron was a little jealous since he often found himself trying to live up to his five brothers who each had accomplished something during their time at Hogwarts.

Jealousy aside Ron should've know by now that he loathed the spotlight, being known throughout the Wizarding World as the boy-who-lived had come with a very high price.

Both Hermione and Ron were aware of how his muggle relatives treated him during the summer. They knew he was not the pampered prince Professor Snape tried to portray him by.

He didn't need them. In a way he was glad that they had shown him what they really thought of him. It still really hurt though.

He was giving the idea of just heading home and becoming a muggle a second thought. At least there, people wouldn't treat him differently just by hearing his name or seeing the lightning-bolt scar on his forehead. Still the reaction from his horrible relatives if he went back gave him pause.

He didn't notice the shadow that fell over him until he heard someone clear their throat.

He looked up and was shocked to find Daphne Greengrass staring down at him.

"Hello Potter."

"Came over here to mock me?" Harry replied, sarcasm dripping from his voice. He was tired of everything and was in no frame of mind to try and trade insults with a Slytherin.

She calmly raised an elegant eyebrow.

"You can get on with it already and leave."

"What in the world has you in such an unpleasant mood, Potter?" she replied nonchalantly.

"Funny, Greengrass."

Daphne seemed to take it as an invitation to sit beside him. Harry just gave her a curious glance as she crossed her legs and laid her delicate hands in her lap.

Harry knew little to nothing about Daphne Greengrass. She was in his year and was an extremely beautiful girl with long hair almost as dark as his with cerulean blue eyes and creamy white complexion. They had shared quite a few classes over the years and unlike Malfoy she kept to herself when it came to taunting him and his friends. Still he wasn't certain what she was doing sitting there beside him.

"So, what are you planing to do to come out of the tournament alive?"

It sounded to him like she didn't like to beat around the bush. He gave her a wide-eyed disbelieving look.

"Why would I want to compete when I didn't put my name in the goblet in the first place?"

"I didn't ask if you did it, I know what a magical binding contract is, so it actually doesn't really matter if you didn't do it, what I really want to know is what are you going to do to stay alive."

"I don't know, other than the fact that the other champions have at least two years on me."

"Really Potter, that's all you have to say?"

Harry could see that she was quite serious but not knowing Daphne at all made him unsure.

"Why should I tell you anything?"

"I'm trying to help you here," Daphne said with an indignant tone, her chicks tinged a light pink in anger.

"I didn't ask for your help," Harry fired back. The girl wasn't helping his already sour mood; didn't she understand that he just wanted to be left alone?

He thought that sitting alone by the lake gave it away pretty quickly.

"Potter, take a look around, even your friends abandoned you because they think that you tossed your name in the goblet, need I remind you what the rest of the school thinks? You're going to need all the help you can get."

"Why do you want to help me?" Harry knew what she was saying made sense but he was still wary of her reasons.

"Why not?"

"Because you're a Slytherin," Harry replied instantly, blurting the first thing that came to his mind.

"Is that all?" Daphne let out a short laugh, while he gave a sharp nod.

"Don't you think it's strange that you hold such a biased grudge against all Slytherins considering you come from living with muggles?"

"What's wrong with that?" he had to give her some credit; at the very least she got his curiosity going.

"Everyone knows that the enmity between both houses runs as far back as the of the Founders, but you, even when you come from one of the oldest pureblood families, can very well be considered a muggleborn. So how come you loathe all of us Slytherins since you first came to Hogwarts?"

She had a point, a very good one. Harry remembered how the Sorting Hat had tried to place him in Slytherin. He knew rather well where part of the animosity stemmed from.

"When Hagrid delivered my Hogwarts letter he took me to Diagon Alley and there I met Malfoy in Madam Malkin's and he started talking about Slytherin and Hufflepuff. Later I asked Hagrid about the houses and he told me that all wizards that went dark came from Slytherin House."

"Strike one," Daphne said cheerfully. "You know that Hagrid is completely loyal to Professor Dumbledore, who in his days as a Hogwarts student was in Gryffindor and later on assumed the position of the Head of Gryffindor house before he became Headmaster. As for Hagrid he was also a Gryffindor," she finished smugly.

Harry chuckled, "Fine, you got me there."

"Anything else?"

Harry blushed when she gave him a knowing look.

"No," he admitted reluctantly. "During the train ride I met Ron and Hermione, she asked us what house she thought we were going to be sorted in, Ron told me that he was sure he was going to end in Gryffindor since all his family had been sorted there and said Voldemort had been a Slytherin."

"Strike two."

Harry continued as if he hadn't heard her still noticing that she hadn't flinched when he mentioned Voldemort's name.

"And then there was Malfoy. Annoying git that one. The instant the hat touched his head he was sent to Slytherin and I wanted to be as far away from him as humanly possible."

"Strike three, and you're out!" Daphne chuckled. She could see why Harry wanted nothing to do with Slytherins. Harry noted the reference to the muggle sport but decided not to bring it up just yet.

"Do you know why Malfoy likes to pick a fight with you every chance he gets?"

"Because he's a prat and we hate each other?" Harry said in a teasing tone.

"You got it half right, but part of it is actually because you turned him down when he offered you his friendship."

"He called Ron a blood-traitor and insinuated that I couldn't sort the right from wrong families."

Daphne's blue eyes were sparkling, "And do you know why he called him a blood-traitor?"

"Because the Weasleys aren't Death Eaters?" Harry replied sarcastically.

Daphne stood up brushing her skirt and gave Harry a knowing look, "Come with me Potter."

"Why?"

"Because I have to show you something." Daphne began walking towards the castle expecting Harry to follow her. Harry got up and went after her. Again she had managed to peak his curiosity. He was sure that someday it would be the death of him.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked when he finally caught up with her.

"To the library."

Harry let out a soft groan.

"Don't," Daphne replied wearily, "I'm not like your friend Granger, I don't live in the library; I just need to show you something. If I told you I can assure you wouldn't believe me."

On the way to the library they received surprised looks from several students but neither of them paid them any mind. Shorty after they arrived Daphne came out from one of the obscure rows carrying a thick leather bound book.

They sat in one of the tables located far away from the entrance doors. Daphne wanted to be sure nobody tried interrupting them while they talked. She opened the book revealing its title to Harry.

_**Wizards Nobility, Genealogy and Famous Conflicts**_.

It gave Harry a bad feeling, but Daphne decided to ignore his look of impeding doom.

She searched the index and after finding what she was looking for she started flipping pages until she came to the chapter she wanted to show Harry.

"Ah, here we are," she said pushing the book towards Harry. He shifted in his seat so he could get a better look.

_**Former Prominent Wizarding Families: The Weasley Family**_

_The Weasley family was once considered one of the most renowned and influential Wizarding families in Great Britain. Their lineage can be traced back to the thirteenth century. They amassed their wealth through several family members who became famous alchemists, researchers and healers amongst other fields. They received the title of Noble and Most Ancient House sometime during the late seventeenth century. They fell out of favour* at the turn of the eighteenth century._

_*For further references see page 554. _

After he finished reading the short passage Harry gave Daphne a puzzled look. He was a bit surprised that the Weasleys were once rich and powerful but he still didn't understand what this had anything to do with Malfoy referring to the Weasleys as blood-traitors. Daphne just rolled her eyes taking the book from him and turned several pages before she pushed the book back to Harry.

_**Most Notorious Blood Feuds of the Eighteenth Century: The Weasley Family**_

_During the early eighteenth century, The Weasley family lost favour after Reinald Weasley murdered his son Julius Weasley and daughter-in-law Octavia Weasley nee Potter. It is believed the crime was caused by the tension rising at the time between the two families. _

_When Reinald Weasley took the title of Head of Family he went into a blood feud with Augustus Malfoy Head of the Malfoy Family* with Cassius Potter Head of the Potter family siding with the Malfoys through the dispute. _

_Augustus Malfoy terminated a long-standing trade partnership once Reinald Weasley became Head of House. Although it is unknown what caused Augustus to do so in the first place. _

_Reinald Weasley was furious and attempted to sabotage Augustus Malfoy's business. After the attempt failed Augustus Malfoy declared a blood feud between the two families._

_By the time that Julius was born the Weasley family and the Potter family were in the brink of a blood feud themselves caused by Reinald's persistence that the Potters sided with the Malfoys when they should have aided the Weasleys over the previously mentioned conflict. _

_Reinald arranged a betrothal for his heir Julius with the daughter of another prominent family, the Longbottoms* thus becoming future allies against the growing struggle between the Weasleys and several other well-known families._

_When Julius and Octavia finished their Hogwarts education they ran away and married in secret. _

_When Reinald found out he hunted them down and murdered them in cold blood, when it was made public that Octavia was with child, the Potter family swore a blood feud against the Weasley family._

_The newly founded Wizards' Council* ruled in favour of stripping the Weasleys of their titles and compensate the Longbottom family for breach of contract and the Potter family for the unfounded murder of a family member._

_The ministry took over all properties, gold and possessions to pay the wronged families. This ruling left the Weasley family broke._

_To date the Weasley family still lives in poverty and shame as the blood feuds between the Malfoy and Potter families still stand, with both families holding positions of power that bar the Weasley family from achieving any type of social or political standing._

_*For the history Potter family see page 340.  
*For the history Malfoy family see page 273.  
*For the history Longbottom family see page 227.  
*For the founding of the Ministry of Magic see page 706._

Harry was speechless. Part of him was furious that none of the Weasleys deemed it necessary to enlighten him about the situation between their families. The other part tried to reason that it was all in the past and he had no reason to treat the Weasleys any different for what happened a very long time ago when they had treated him like a part of their family.

"I get why you wanted to show me this, but what does it matter now anyways?"

Daphne gave Harry an exasperated look, "I'm not asking you to denounce the Weasleys; I just wanted you to know and to understand where Malfoy was coming from."

"It still doesn't change the fact that his a git," he chuckled darkly.

"No it doesn't, but he grew up hearing this over and over, as did every child that was born into a Wizarding family."

"Still not going to befriend Malfoy over this."

"No one said you had to, I showed you so you knew the reason of his behaviour and that you have to be careful who you befriend unless you want to be in unnecessary danger more so now that you're competing in the tournament."

Harry paled and gave Daphne a weak nod. He was still trying to come up with a valid reason to stop speaking to the Weasleys. They had received him in their house and treated him like one of their own. He was still trying to understand why they hadn't said anything.

"Potter, do you know how to end a blood feud?" Daphne brought him out of his thoughts.

"Not a clue," Harry said distractedly while pushing the book away and leaning back against the library chair while folding his arms over his chest.

"Well there are several ways. The easiest one is for you to become the Head of House and formally acknowledge the end of the feud."

"What are the other ways?" He looked at her fidgeting nervously in his seat.

"There's a less pleasant way where you owe a life-debt to the offending family and they collect that debt by making you acknowledge the end of the feud and if they are smart, they'll take everything from you."

"How does someone manage to owe a life-debt?"

"If for instance you are in mortal danger and a member of the Weasleys saves you, a life-debt is formed. It's in a way a magical contract for a favour, any kind of favour."

Harry gulped loudly trying to recall if at any given time Ron or any of the Weasleys had saved him from any kind of mortal danger. His mind only came up with the time in first year where Ron 'sacrificed' himself when they were after the stone but they weren't really in mortal danger at that moment.

"Any other ways besides that one?" he really didn't want to ask but now that he knew about the blood feud he found himself needing to now everything.

"Through a betrothal contract between the Head of House — you in the near future — and a member of the affected family, say little Ginny Weasley."

Harry gave Daphne a horrified look while she tried not to laugh out loud, not wanting to attract the attention of Madam Pince and get thrown out of the library.

"See why it's very important for you to know if you have a standing blood feud with a certain family, by associating with them you make yourself available for all kinds of trouble. That's why they call them blood-traitors by the offended family."

Harry nodded dumbly. He tried to see himself married to Ron's sister and it wasn't a very pleasant picture.

"I don't want to marry her," Harry said weakly.

"I wouldn't like to see you married to her either," Daphne said between snickers, "After all she founded the Harry Potter fan club last year."

Harry lost all colour after Daphne mentioned a fan club, he would bet anything that Colin Creevey and his little brother were also part of the blasted club. Then it hit him; he had risked his life to save Ginny last year over the Chamber of Secrets incident.

"And what happens if one of the Weasleys owes me a life-debt?"

"There are basically two ways that could pan out. First if you owe them a life-debt and a member of the Weasleys owes you one in return, you wait for them to collect and then you turn it around and call forth the one they owe you, making theirs obsolete."

Harry nodded motioning for her to continue.

"Other than that if you don't owe them a life-debt, you can collect in any way you want. For instance you can ask for the hand of Ginny Weasley and for the feud to remain intact."

Harry shuddered.

"Even if you say you didn't. Do you secretly want to see me married to Ginny?" Harry squeaked.

"If only to see your horrified face on your wedding day," Daphne threw Harry a slight smirk.

"Evil Slytherin."

"Cowardly Gryffindor," Daphne fired back. He just shook his head trying to clear his mind from all the information that was just recently dumped on him.

"So, apart from all this blood feuds and blood-traitor business, what to you get out of helping me with the tournament?"

"Honestly?" Daphne said after a brief pause, "Recognition."

"For helping the-boy-who-lived?" he said in a defensive tone.

"Not at all. It's more of a political alliance, actually. The Potters are one of the oldest pureblood families and unlike the Weasleys who are firmly a light family, yours is more on the gray side, depending on the conflict at the time."

"What does this have to do with you?" Harry asked.

"The Greengrass, although not as old as your family has always been firmly on the gray side, but after the war with the Dark Lord and all the mayhem going on at the Ministry at the time, they decided to declare us dark."

"And why was your family deemed dark?"

Daphne looked at Harry her eyes shinning with shame, "Because some members were sympathetic to some of the propaganda that the Dark Lord was preaching and didn't hide that fact but still refused to side with anyone when the time came to fight."

Harry just raised a curious eyebrow, making Daphne avert her eyes and fidget slightly in her chair.

"You have to understand that at the time there was chaos everywhere, and suddenly this powerful wizard comes out of nowhere giving the pureblood families an excuse to cast out the muggleborns from the wizarding world."

Daphne sighed softly, pushing a strand of black hair away from her face.

"The muggleborns were taking over important ministry positions while were trying to lift the statute of secrecy and pushing bills to change old standing traditions."

Harry nodded slightly. He didn't want to imagine what people like the Dursleys would do if they found out that magic existed.

Daphne continued speaking, "The statute of secrecy is there for a reason. There was a time long before Hogwarts was even founded where wizards and muggles worked together. But the muggles are prejudiced and fearful by nature, hence the witch burnings and the statute."

"I get that," Harry said with a slight nod, "What I don't understand is the fear that wizards have of change. You have to agree that some traditions are extremely outdated, yet they stubbornly refuse to update them."

Daphne let out an exasperated sigh looking around to see if anyone was within hearing distance. Once she was sure they were alone she continued. "I actually agree with you. But some of these families are fairly old and have passed their knowledge from generation to generation. In the wizarding world family and traditions are very important, so you see why they would side with a wizard that gave them an excuse to remove muggleborns from high positions of power?"

Harry nodded.

Seeing she still had Harry's attention she continued, "And add to that that some purebloods want to keep their lines pure and snub muggleborns because they don't come with a magical background that has the same rules and traditions as our society and you get wiling followers for the Dark Lord."

"I understand, but I don't agree with it," Harry said firmly. He understood that some people were afraid of any form of change, muggle or magical. And he knew that when he came to Hogwarts he had no idea of the rules or any kind of knowledge about politics and society. Outside the basics he still didn't. "But that's no excuse to go around killing people because they were muggleborns or were against Voldemort's ideals."

Daphne gave him a slight smile. "No it isn't, but tell me Potter, when has there ever been a peaceful war?"

Harry shrugged but returned her smile. Even though he knew little to nothing about this girl, she was extremely clever, and not in a Hermione clever sort of way. For starters she didn't talk to him as if he was stupid for not knowing something. And she made him think. Even if he didn't see eye to eye with everything she said. "Alright then, with what did your family agree with Voldemort?"

Daphne just blushed prettily speaking barely above a whisper, "They agreed that lifting the statute of secrecy wasn't ideal."

Harry let out a soft chuckle. "I imagined it was something like that."

She gave him a questioning look.

"By the way you talked about it I figured it was something around that issue."

"It's good to know you pay attention Potter," she said chuckling herself.

"Thanks," he said rubbing the back of his neck and blushing slightly.

"Alright then, back to the original topic," Daphne replied in a business like tone sitting straight in her chair. "My family's standing at the moment is not quite accurate and I'd like to change that."

"I'm listening."

"In exchange for helping you during the tournament, we would make a sort of political alliance. It would help change how the public views my family by associating with you."

He could tell that Daphne wasn't telling him everything but decided to let it slide for the moment.

"Doesn't sound like it would take much effort from my part," he said nodding in agreement.

"But what about the way that everyone sees me now?" he thought that it wouldn't help her standing at all with the way everyone was treating him at the moment.

"I did give it some thought. And it is very likely that once you go through the first task people will realize that you didn't actually put your name in the goblet."

"How do you know the way they'll react?" he was astounded, this girl had a knack to bring out his curious side.

"Because," she paused briefly, "People are a bit daft sometimes. Once they see how extremely dangerous the tournament is, they'll change their minds on the spot."

Harry gulped loudly. For a while Daphne accomplished the impossible. She made him forget that he was in a tight position, with no friends whatsoever to support him. She distracted him by teaching him, a fit not even Hermione had achieved.

"I forgot about that last bit," he replied nervously.

She gave him a brilliant smile.

"That's why I'm here for. In a way I have to protect my investment," Daphne said mockingly.

"Alright, how are we going to manage this?"

"You leave everything to me," she said, "I'll find us a nice abandoned classroom where we can come up with a plan to help you get through this."

Harry nodded and watched as Daphne stood from her chair and smoothed down her skirt.

"Meet me tomorrow after classes outside the Great Hall."

"Okay."

"And don't be late," she reminded him.

"I'll see you then," Harry replied watching as she walked out of the library.

Today was going to be a really long day and he had a lot to think about. He was actually quite astonished that Daphne hadn't jumped at the opportunity to start planning a way for him to get through the tournament at that very instant. Knowing Hermione she would have hounded him until he complied.

He berated himself. Why was he so intent on comparing Hermione with Daphne, and when in the world did she become Daphne and not Greengrass in his head? He knew she was at the top of the class in their year, right there with Hermione.

He recalled Hermione telling him that Daphne was rather clever. At the time he hadn't noticed that Hermione hadn't liked the idea of someone else competing with her for the best marks, but now was not the time to think about his traitorous friends.

He sighed and looked around. The library was almost completely deserted. Today was Sunday and the other students were probably outside enjoying a rare sunny day for that time of year.

He was surprised that Hermione wasn't in the library herself and knowing Hermione he wondered if she knew about the blood feuds but quickly banished the thought from his mind.

It didn't matter if she knew. He didn't need them. It appeared that he was doing fine without them. And maybe he could get Daphne to teach him all there was to know about the wizarding world. He had to hand it to her; she had a way of intriguing him. If she was like this with every subject, everything was going to be a piece of cake.

He stood up and decided to take a walk around the grounds. He still had a lot to think about and some fresh air would probably do him good.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: All characters, places, and anything familiar from the Harry Potter books and movies belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros.**

**A/N: The response to the first chapter was amazing. Thanks to all the people who read, reviewed, followed and ****favorited the story. So much so that the half chapter I had practically finished itself. Also I'd like to thank those of you who sent suggestions, they will be taken into consideration. Lastly I kind of need a Beta who's familiar with British slang because I'm having a bit of trouble making it sound as accurate as possible. Hope you like!**

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_**Chapter 2**_

After a quiet walk around the grounds of Hogwarts Harry decided to go back to the castle. He still had a lot on his mind but having Daphne Greengrass on his side, even if it was a political manoeuvre seemed to calm him down quite a bit.

He was still not in the mood to deal with reproachful stares choosing to skip dinner and head directly to the Gryffindor common room. During his walk earlier he came up with the idea to go over some of his schoolbooks to find spells to help him get through the tournament. He hoped that with doing this and Daphne's help he would come out of this whole mess alive.

Surprisingly enough he had his homework completed so he had plenty of time to go over some books before bed. Usually Hermione went over his Transfiguration and Potions essays but it looked like he would have to manage on his own from now on. After yesterday's fight he wasn't planning on approaching either Ron or Hermione any time soon.

He walked through the common room that was completely empty and went straight to his room on the fourth floor. He was looking forward to his seventh year so he wouldn't have to climb so many stairs, knowing the seventh year rooms where located on the first floor.

After climbing several sets of stairs Harry arrived at his room and closed the door behind him loudly. He didn't notice that Neville Longbottom had apparently chosen to forgo dinner too.

They both gave a startled yelp when the door closed. Neville blushed while Harry just gave him an uncomfortable smile.

"Sorry Neville, I thought everyone was down at the Great Hall," he said rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

He hadn't spoken to any of his schoolmates after his name came out of the goblet, aside from Daphne, Hermione and Ron.

"It's alright Harry, what are you doing up here so early?" Neville waved off Harry's apology.

Harry decided to answer honestly; after all even though Neville was quite shy he had never been mean to him, "I was planning on going over some spells for the tournament."

"Harry?"

"What is it Neville?"

Neville let out a soft sigh. "I wanted to let you know that I don't think you put your name in the goblet."

Harry wanted to say he didn't believe him knowing that almost everyone in Gryffindor had looked at him with awed faces last night but then noticed the sincerity shining through Neville's eyes.

"Thanks Neville, though you're practically alone with that thought." Harry let out a dark chuckle.

Neville just shook his head. "I wont be alone for long, people will start to realize that you didn't do it, one way or another."

Harry plopped tiredly on the floor in front of his trunk. "Someone said something similar to me today."

"So you weren't telling the truth, someone apart from me is on your side," Neville replied happily.

Harry turned to look at him with an amused smile, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me," was all that Neville said.

Harry contemplated on whether or not to tell Neville who his new ally was. He knew that Neville was often a target for other Slytherins but then again he hadn't heard him say that Greengrass was one of them.

Harry sighed tiredly but decided to tell Neville the truth, "Daphne Greengrass."

He opened his trunk searching for his standard book of spells and the dark forces books and waited for Neville to start shouting at him for trusting a Slytherin, just like he'd expected his former friends to react.

After a moment of silence, Harry glanced at Neville, who was sitting on his bed with an open book on his lap.

Neville's eyes were wide with surprise but he noticed there was no accusation in them of any kind. Then suddenly Neville's face went from shocked to playful. Neville let out an amused laugh. "So you've met my cousin then?"

Neville was thoroughly enjoying Harry's poor imitation of a goldfish, "What? Who?"

"Really Harry?" Neville's tone still held some amusement, "You have to know that the majority of the wizarding families are related. You're probably related to Malfoy and maybe the Weasleys too."

Harry shuddered remembering what Daphne had showed him earlier and decided to ask Neville what he knew on the subject. "Say Neville, do you know about blood feuds?"

Neville blushed and gave Harry a knowing look, "So I see Daphne filled you in on that topic."

"Yeah she did. Why didn't you tell me that my family had a blood feud with the Weasleys?" Harry said with a slight hurt tone of voice.

"I really don't have any excuses Harry, just the fact that Ron and I don't get along and he's your best friend. You even defended him back in first year when Malfoy called him a blood-traitor. At the time I thought you knew and later I didn't seem to find the right time."

"It's alright Neville, its not like we were that close and maybe before the whole goblet thing I wouldn't have believed you anyway."

Neville looked at Harry with understanding eyes. "I'm still sorry I didn't let you know beforehand."

"Don't worry about it, what you said about believing me when practically no one does makes up for it," a slight smile grazed Harry's face. He took the books out of his trunk and pulled a few pieces of parchment along with a quill and ink.

"So, what did my dear cousin tell you apart from the blood feuds topic?"

"She wants to help me train for the tournament."

Neville nodded slightly, "I thought it went along those lines, and pray tell, what did she ask in return for her help?"

Harry gave him a shocked look, "How did you know she asked for something?"

"She may be my cousin, but she's also a Slytherin, they don't invest on something unless they can get a profit out of it," Harry let out a quiet chuckle. He could definitely agree with that.

"She wants to change how the wizarding world sees her family."

"Well, at the moment things don't look so good for them," Neville admitted, "Many families suffered a negative backlash when You Know Who was finally defeated."

Harry nodded thoughtfully while he settled on his bed and opened one of the books. He wondered what had he'd gotten himself into. He hoped that for once he had trusted the right person.

* * *

Daphne Greengrass walked quietly back to the Slytherin common room. She knew she was close when the temperature began getting colder.

She thought she might have gotten through to Potter. At least that was what it looked like. She knew that at least he was receptive to some of the ideas she gave him. She was determined in keeping her end of the bargain by any means necessary. By the end of the tournament she hoped he would be ready to hear what she really had planned.

Daphne arrived at the common room and took a quick look around. It was almost completely empty. There were a few younger students milling around playing cards or reading in the couches by the fire. She climbed the stairs to her room and went in without knocking. She knew that Pansy was probably following Draco around somewhere while Tracy and Gracie where probably roaming the halls trying to find something interesting to gossip about.

She found Millie Bulstrode finishing what looked like their Transfiguration essay. She was by no means dumb like everyone thought. If only people bothered to look at her grades they would know she was actually one of the top twenty students in their year. The problem was that she always left her homework for the last minute and often arrived late to class.

"Hey Millie, haven't learned your lesson yet?" Daphne snickered. "You know that leaving everything till the last minute is a disaster waiting to happen."

"Do shut up." Millicent giggled. "Just because you have what is probably a photographic memory and can practically do your homework with your eyes closed doesn't mean everyone can finish theirs with time to spare."

"You do know you had all week to do it right?"

"I know, I know." Millie sighed dejectedly. "But there was a bet going around the common room about who the champions were going to be and I had to keep an eye on the ones that dropped their names in to even my odds."

Daphne snorted lightly. "Whatever lets you sleep at night."

"I always sleep soundly," Millie replied smugly, "So how did your meeting with Potter go?"

Daphne locked the door and sat on her bed. "Even better than I expected."

"Do tell."

"I thought at first when I approached him he was going to hex me. I think that with all the students looking at him as if he was the future Dark Lord didn't really help his temper."

"What did you expect?" Millie shook her head sadly. "That boy has the worst luck in the world. Remember second year? Everyone thought he was the Heir of Slytherin and from what I heard no one apologized after the truth came out."

"And little Ginny Weasley still roams the halls of Hogwarts," Daphne said with disgust lacing her voice.

"You never told me how you found out it was actually the SheWeasley who opened the chamber."

"We've been over this already, they made me swear not to tell anyone." Daphne smirked slightly.

"Or you're waiting for the right time to out the SheWeasley."

Daphne decided to ignore Millie's comment and continue with her explanation, "Anyway we started talking and I brought up his hatred for all Slytherins and he mentioned Draco and his use of the word blood-traitors. I ended up showing him the book about wizarding families I found last year in the library."

"I take it didn't go very well?"

"For a moment there I didn't know if he wanted to curse someone or cry."

Millie's brow furrowed. "That bad?"

"Not really but he did ask a lot of questions. He seemed really interested in the political movements that were going around during the Dark Lord's reign."

"That's actually good. If everything goes according to plan we could probably induct him by the end of the year if not sooner."

"Let's hope he's ready by then."

* * *

The next day Harry was pacing nervously outside the Great Hall waiting for Daphne to arrive. Classes had gone horribly wrong that day. All he wanted to do at the moment was find a little nice rock to live under for the rest of his life.

If there was still a small amount of doubt about forgiving his friends it went down the drain earlier that day. It wasn't enough that they weren't on speaking terms; they had to go all the way with their latest prank.

He had woken early and had gotten ready for breakfast. Normally he would have waited for Ron but seeing as they weren't talking he went by himself. Harry was actually trying really hard to avoid anyone whose last name was Weasley for the time being. He was still not sure what he should do with them. He arrived at the Great Hall and sat next to Neville who was sitting alone on the edge of the table closest to the door. When they finished eating they went to their first class together.

There he was, sitting with Neville minding his business during Potions when he noticed that several students were wearing badges that proclaimed Cedric Diggory as the only Hogwarts champion. He actually didn't mind the badges until they changed with a tap of a wand to say 'Potter stinks'.

But what made his blood boil was the fact that his former friends walked in wearing them. Hermione had this superior look that chilled him to the bones. Ron on the other hand avoided looking his way at all costs.

When the class finally ended Neville overheard a blonde Hufflepuff girl who was boasting to her friends that Ron and Hermione had actually helped some other Hufflepuffs make the badges. If Harry actually thought about it, it had Hermione written all over it. She was smart enough to come up with the idea and probably knew the spells required to make them. As for Ron's involvement it was still unclear if he had anything to do besides wearing one but it was a low blow, even for them. He actually expected something like this from Malfoy but all the other boy did was mock him and call him names as usual.

He wondered if he'd made a mistake in not accepting Malfoy's hand in friendship and not letting the hat sort him into Slytherin. Then he remembered how a spoiled brat Malfoy was. But maybe he would've done better in the other house, like the hat had initially suggested.

Well, there was no use playing the 'what if' game. It wouldn't lead to anything good, it just served to depress him further.

"If you don't stop pacing you'll wear a hole in the ground."

Harry jumped slightly. "What are you doing here Neville?"

Neville shrugged his shoulders, "You weren't at the Great Hall and I guess I just wanted to know if you were doing alright."

"It wasn't any kinds of fun finding out that my 'best friends' helped make those badges but I'll get over it. Not in the near future though."

"I'm right there with you mate," Neville shook his head, "What I don't understand is why they did it. One thing is for them not to believe you but another one completely is to do that kind of stuff."

"It's good in a twisted sort of way," Harry said shrugging his shoulders slightly. "At least now I know what they really think of me."

"I'm glad you can look at things that way," a voice said from behind him. Daphne walked and stood in front of Harry followed closely by Millicent Bulstrode.

"You're late," Harry tsked mockingly. "Here I thought you wanted to protect your investment."

"Do shut up," she replied in the same mocking tone as his. They locked eyes for a moment, blue clashing with green both smiling briefly before she turned around and started walking, as expected everyone started following her.

Harry eyed Millicent nervously. She still looked quite intimidating, not so much as she did the previous years; now that the boys were getting taller her stature was less threatening. She wore her long brown hair in soft waves down which helped soften her features, still what bothered Harry a bit was her unibrow. Daphne hadn't said anything about bringing other people. It was a good thing that Neville arrived when he did.

"So, not that I mind, but what is Bulstrode doing here?" Harry said as he fell in step next to Daphne, letting the other two follow silently behind. The corridors were deserted at this hour with all the students having dinner in the Great Hall.

"She's just here to help. Just as I imagine Neville is."

"He found me by the hall, I didn't ask him to come along." Harry shot Neville an apologetic look.

Neville just nodded slightly and kept walking. Daphne eyed him carefully before answering, "It's actually a good thing you brought him along. If we're going to come up with a plan and start your training you'll need a target to practice on."

"Really? I've always wanted to be shot at with newly learnt spells that can go horribly wrong," Neville said with a teasing tone.

Harry was quite shocked. He had never heard Neville trying to joke, let alone with Slytherins. Then he remembered that Neville mentioned that he and Daphne were cousins.

"Hey Neville, how closely related are you and Daphne?" Daphne looked at Neville with a surprised look. Harry guessed she hadn't expected for either Harry to tell Neville what they had agreed on or for Neville to admit they were related.

"My gran from my dad's side and her grandmother from her father's side are sisters, we actually got along really well until we came to Hogwarts and were sorted into different houses."

"Don't be such a cry-baby, we still get along just fine on Christmas and during the summer." Daphne huffed.

"Yeah, there's that." Neville laughed shrugging his shoulders. "Although you have to admit that Christmas during first year was a bit awkward."

Daphne laughed openly nodding her head. "You were scared to death of me."

"You would be terrified too if every Slytherin you met thought you were their target practice," Neville replied indignantly.

Harry felt the tension building and decided to change the subject, "So Daphne, where's this secret place you found?"

Daphne gave him a grateful nod. "Not far, actually. I stumbled upon an abandoned corridor by accident in first year, I got lost and ended up in a hallway with several doors and barely lit torches. I discovered that they used them to teach fencing and duelling a long time ago."

Harry thought it would have been interesting to take those classes and wondered why they didn't offer them anymore. Daphne apparently read his mind when she started talking, sarcasm dripping from her voice, "Apparently they decided to retire the courses when students kept hurting themselves."

"I didn't know they used to teach those subjects," Harry replied thoughtfully. What else didn't he know? Hanging out with Ron had made him quite lazy and Hermione's nagging made doing homework cringe worthy, let alone searching for information on his own free will. He used to have decent grades before he came to Hogwarts and even if he tried he would never be as clever as Hermione, then again she spent almost all of her time with her head buried in a book or doing homework. Maybe if he applied himself a bit and used his innate curiosity for something useful he would probably do marginally better.

They arrived at the corridor that Daphne had described. It looked a bit creepy and old but it seemed like an ideal place. No one would come looking for them here.

Daphne opened one of the doors that lined the corridor and went in followed closely by the others. The room was quite large with an elevated platform in the centre with were several desks lined along the walls. It looked just like the Great Hall did during Professor Lockhart's attempt at teaching them how to duel in second year.

"This place should work," Harry said as he walked around inspecting the huge classroom. He wondered what ideas Daphne had come up with. Last night he had made a few notes on several spells that sounded quite promising. Harry turned around and saw Neville and Millicent with surpised looks on their faces while Daphne waited patiently for them to finished looking over the room.

Daphne walked and stood beside him in front of a dust-covered desk. She took her wand out and muttered a simple cleaning charm. All the dust and grime from the desk banished. "I suggest that we clean this place up first, I know for a fact that dear cousin Neville is allergic to dust."

Harry snickered quietly while Neville grumbled under his breathe. Once they managed to clean the place up Daphne and Millie dropped their schoolbags in one of the desks and started pulling out books and pieces of parchment. When they finished they ordered them into two neat stacks.

"The first thing we need to do is try to put you on par with the rest of the champions. They have an age advantage with all the knowledge it entitles."

Harry cringed slightly. This was probably the least favourite part of learning and he knew he couldn't keep blaming Ron's laziness and Hermione's obsession with all things related to books and homework. Without them there to help him he only had himself to rely on. Well he had Daphne and apparently Neville and Millicent too, who had yet to say a word.

Harry grabbed the pieces of parchment from his bag and pulled a chair and sat beside Daphne and Millie on the desk. "So, what do you have in mind?"

Neville shook his head softy and joined them at the large desk, carrying a chair along. Bringing Harry up to speed would take a great amount of time and effort. Not to mention the probable frequent visits to the hospital wing they would require.

"I signed out the fifth and sixth year's spell books from the library this morning, we'll go through them and mark the spells that look relevant."

"I went through the fourth year spell curriculum and wrote down the ones that sounded important." Harry handed Daphne the list he had made the night before.

Daphne looked over Harry's notes and smirked slightly, "It's good to see you actually want to live through this death trap they call a tournament."

Harry noticed there was no sarcasm in her voice. He actually felt quite proud with his small list. It had taken him several hours to come up with that list of spells.

"Well Harry here basically did what we can consider the first part of the plan."

"What are the other parts?" Neville's face shined with barely repressed curiosity.

Daphne shook her head slightly and turned to look back at Harry. "To start with, finding out what the tasks are going to be will be one of our main priorities right there with teaching Potter. That way we can prepare him for them properly."

"But that's cheating," Harry said with uncertainty, he wasn't sure if he could cheat his way through the tournament.

"Actually," Millicent finally decided to speak, "It is well known that before the tournament got cancelled all the contestants were supposed to go in blind but everyone knew that one way or another the champions somehow always managed to find what the tasks were."

To Harry it sounded quite stupid to send students to dangerous tasks without some kind of knowledge. Then again they voluntarily entered the tournament and guessed not knowing would be part of the fun.

"And how do you plan to find out?"

Harry was surprised it was Neville who asked the question. He was so sure Neville would be a stickler for the rules but looking at his openly inquisitive face he wondered if he and Daphne were more alike than they let on.

"I've got ears everywhere, anything that anyone mentions involving the tournament will come straight back to me, even if its some insignificant information."

"And how on earth did you managed that?" this time it was Harry who voiced the question.

"A girl has to have her secrets," Daphne's voice was full of intrigue and mystery.

Harry groaned. Well at least he wasn't going into this whole mess completely in the dark. Any help he could get, even if it meant cheating would be godsend. He was entitled to that information; after all he didn't put his name in the blasted goblet to start with, not to mention the advantage the other champions had over him to begin with.

"All right, everyone grab a book and start reading." Daphne clapped her hands once and took a book from the pile. The rest decided to follow her example.

* * *

Later that night the four of them ended up having to sneak back to their respective common rooms. They had lost track of time once Neville started asking questions about some spells he found in the standard book of spells grade 6. Harry had looked over Neville's shoulder pointing out several charms and hexes that had some shocking effects.

Both boys then started discussing the use of nonverbal spells versus verbal spells. The conversation started flowing and soon the girls joined in.

By the time they called it a night they had all gone through at least one book each. Daphne gathered the lists and told Harry she would go over them to make sure they would actually work for him.

Daphne drew a map for Harry and Neville and told them to meet back in the classroom the next day after classes. Neville actually moaned when it dawned on him that he was probably going to miss another meal.

Harry had pulled Daphne aside before they left. "Can we meet by the Great Lake before classes tomorrow?"

Daphne raised an inquiring eyebrow. Harry sighed and lowered his voice leaning slightly to reach her ear, "I want to ask you some questions but I don't want an audience, even if they're on my side."

Daphne nodded slightly, "Alright, I'll meet you before breakfast."

Harry thanked her and started to move away from her. She grabbed his arm and turned him to face her. "It's good that you're cautious, even if you are between friends."

Harry blushed lightly and nodded before he moved to follow Neville. They made it safely to their common room. But when both Harry and Neville went through the portrait hole they found that there was actually someone waiting up for them. All Harry wanted to do was walk by and ignore Hermione but apparently she had a lot to say to him.

When he tried to walk past the entrance she got off the couch and started walking straight up to him, "Where were you?" she hissed.

"I don't think that it's any of your business."

"Of course it is, you were out past curfew," she said crossing her arms over her chest.

"Still doesn't mean I have to tell you were I was," Harry tried to side step her but she blocked his path. He notice Neville was shuffling nervously beside him. Hermione could be quite intimidating when she was angry; add to it that she wanted to know what Harry was up to and you got extremely scary Hermione.

"If you don't tell me where you were I'll report you to Professor McGonagall," she stated smugly.

"You can report me all you like but I'm not going to tell you what I was doing," Hermione's face fell but then she looked at him with a strange glint in her eyes that made him shudder involuntarily.

"Harry, I'm your friend. I know that we had a little disagreement and I'm sure it's something that can be fixed with time. I've been thinking and I guess Ron and I went the wrong way by making you tell us the truth in front of everyone the other day."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise. _'Does she actually think I'm that stupid?',_ he though while shaking his head sadly.

Meanwhile Hermione continued babbling, "We should have talked to you in private but Ron's mouth got the best of him, you know how exited he can get, right?"

Harry's eyes grew bigger by the second. Neville stopped moving beside him and watched Hermione with interest as she kept digging herself deeper.

"Professor Dumbledore said you wanted to keep it a secret so the other students wouldn't hound you with incessant questions. I understand that and I forgive you for not coming to me before you went ahead and tossed your name in the goblet."

Neville actually started laughing, which in turn made Harry chuckle darkly. Hermione huffed angrily, "I don't see how this is funny!"

"You forgive me? You don't really think I'd fall for all that rubbish did you?" Harry replied harshly. And since when did Professor Dumbledore started telling people he had actually dropped his name in the cursed artefact?

"Yes I forgive you and it's the truth, Professor Dumbledore said so."

"Oh, just because a teacher tells you something it has to be real?" Harry's voice was starting to tremble with repressed anger.

Neville started shaking nervously again, "What about Professor Quirrell or Professor Lockhart? Not to mention Snape."

Hermione's eyes were suddenly focused on Neville. It made the shy boy take a step back. Harry tried to head to his room again and again Hermione stepped in front of him, her eyes still on Neville. "It's Professor Dumbledore, of course his telling the truth."

"Listen Hermione, you can report us if you like but I'm going to bed," he spat finally managing to reach the stairs that led to the boys dormitory with Neville following hot on his heels.

On the way to their room Harry stopped and looked at Neville, "I think she has finally gone completely bonkers."

Neville snickered nervously and then his face went serious, "What troubles me is what she said about Professor Dumbledore. Is he actually saying that stuff or was it just Hermione making things up to try and get information out of you?"

"I don't know and I'm not sure I want to find out."

They climbed the stairs silently and agreed to discuss the latest development when they were completely sure no one was listening. They changed and went to bed without saying another word. Harry kept thinking about what Hermione had said. It was disturbing to say the least. He had looked up to Professor Dumbledore. When the professor told him he had to compete he had assured Harry he believed him when he said he hadn't done it. Harry now wondered if it was all a ploy. But the real question was why? Why go through all that trouble?


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: All characters, places, and anything familiar from the Harry Potter books belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros.**

**A/N: I'm amazed at the wonderful response to the story. Thanks to all the people who read, reviewed, followed and ****favorited the story, you made my day! Also I'd like to thank those of you who sent suggestions, they will be taken into consideration. Anyone who would like to beta please send me a PM. And for all of you who are wondering what's wrong with Hermione I hope this answers some questions. Merry Christmas everyone!**

* * *

**_Chapter 3_**

Hermione was lying in her bed unable to sleep. She was running out of ideas to find a way to reach through to Harry. She had to admit, if only to herself that the badges had been a very bad move, even when she went through all the trouble to get Susan Bones to blabber her big mouth near Harry so he would hear and everything. She thought that if she made him angry enough he would come to her and demand to know what she was up to. Instead he had retreated further away from her. At the time she had been so sure it was the perfect plan.

Just as she'd thought that provoking him in front of all the students in the Gryffindor common room after the champions were announced was the right way to go. She had counted on Harry's anger to make an appearance and for him to lose his temper and scream at them or to get at the prospect of being abandoned by his only friends finally forcing him to admit the truth. What had transpired that night had been quite unexpected indeed. He had shut down and given her and Ron the cold shoulder, he even went as far as missing meals at the Great Hall to avoid them.

Hermione had a meeting with Professor Dumbledore the next morning after breakfast and she was dreading it. The night the champions were announced he had pulled her aside just as the students were leaving the Great Hall explaining how Harry had admitted his crime and assigning her to follow Harry to find out what he planed to do to prepare for the tournament. She had run strait to Ron to tell him Harry was guilty and that they should probably talk to him about it. Things had gone downhill from there. Now Harry barely acknowledged them and she was nowhere near finding out what he was up to.

Ron had hesitated after they had confronted Harry in the common room but she had squashed his doubts thoroughly, after all she trusted Professor Dumbledore completely and if he said that Harry had thrown his name in the goblet then it was certainly true.

Hermione remembered the helplessness and fear she had felt back in first year when she'd discovered several articles stating that muggleborns were treated marginally better than squibs since He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named came to power during the 1970's. She'd been going through the past editions of the Daily Prophet that were kept in the library to satiate her curiosity and hunger for knowledge. She had been horrified after finding out that all muggleborns were being fired from important jobs at the ministry and several other high-ranking jobs or suddenly disappeared and were later found dead. Once the purebloods had taken control during the war it had all gone to hell.

Hermione was terrified that when she finally completed her Hogwarts education she would have to head back to the muggle world. She refused to go back, not after finding a place where she could do thing muggles couldn't ever dream of doing. Memories of how her classmates had laughed at her and called her names just because she liked to read and thought that researching and doing homework was fascinating came flowing through her mind. It wasn't her fault she didn't want to play with dolls or dress up in her mum's clothes. She had cursed her parents over the years for being muggles. If only she had been born to magical parents or knew all the things she did now she would have kept her mouth shut about her 'impure blood'.

Not knowing what to do for the first time in her life Hermione had sought out Professor Dumbledore with her findings. He had managed to calm her fears after he explained that the ones that were smart or lucky enough married a pureblood, which gave them access to the jobs they wanted. The Headmaster had related the story of a girl named Lily Evans, a brilliant and ambitious student, just like her.

Professor Dumbledore told her that at the beginning of her seventh year Lily had confided in him, explaining how disappointed she was with the way the wizarding world was treating muggleborns. All her applications for apprenticeships had been rejected once they found out she wasn't a pureblood. He explained to Hermione how he had helped Lily achieve her dream of becoming a Potioneer. When he offered the same to her Hermione had jumped at the opportunity to secure her dreams and accepted becoming Harry's friend in exchange.

It had been an easy job. She was actually quite fond of Harry, right after she learned to ignore his temper and mediocrity that is. What had her a bit confused was the reason Ron would want to be friends with Harry. She had brushed on wizarding traditions when she arrived at Hogwarts and found out about blood feuds, life debts and current political standings. It came as a surprise when she learned about the Potters and Malfoys standing blood feud with the Weasleys. She had assumed that maybe Ron didn't care and left it at that. It wasn't really her problem to begin with.

What she had taken upon herself was helping Harry finish Hogwarts with passing grades, it was the least she could do; after all he was indirectly helping her make her dreams a reality. It didn't hurt that she was getting paid for it either. Professor Dumbledore had opened an account at Gringotts for her. Every end of the school year he deposited a hefty amount of galleons in her vault. By the time she graduated from school she would have a nice little nest egg to pay the rent for a flat and live comfortably for some time while she searched for a suitable husband. She already had a list made of potential candidates, with pros and cons attached to each name. It may seem superficial and cold to others but getting a good job and being recognized for her accomplishments was everything to her.

She was sure that if Harry learned the truth he would forgive her once she explained her reasons. Harry was a bleeding heart and starved for any kind of love and affection after living all those years with the horrible muggles he called relatives. Although lately it had been a bit more difficult trying to keep him on the straight line. Since she had known him Harry had always managed to get himself into all kinds of trouble but tossing his name in the goblet after she warned him of the dangers involved was plain stupid. A part of her had felt deeply hurt and betrayed when he went behind her back. If he wanted to compete that badly he should have gone to her and she would've made sure that only his name came out of the goblet instead of two Hogwarts students. '_Well, no use crying over spilt milk'_, she thought.

She rolled around in her bed trying to make as little noise as possible. The last thing she wanted was to wake her sleeping roommates. She knew they didn't like her and the small amount of respect they had for her vanished after Harry's latest stunt. She sighed quietly as parts of the latest confrontation with Harry played in her mind.

When Ron told her earlier that night that Harry and Neville weren't up in their room she waited up for them in one of the couches by the fireplace in the common room. The conversation hadn't gone the way she had imagined, in fact it had all gone straight to hell. It was as if she couldn't predict Harry's reactions any longer. Maybe it was all Neville's fault. He had to be influencing him in some way. She knew he and Harry had never been close; she had made sure Harry's only friends were her and Ron. Isolating Harry had been one of Professor Dumbledore's ideas. He confessed that having only the two of them to rely on was what was best concerning Harry's safety. He had told her how other wizards would want to take advantage of him to further their own sinister plans. She had agreed wholeheartedly.

Her mind drifted back to her plans, confronting him, mocking and threatening him hadn't worked very well. She doubted that asking nicely would work now. He would just swear he didn't do it. The key was to make him angry enough for the truth to slip. How could she make him confess? She finally went to sleep stilltrying to come up with ideas on how to get Harry back where he belonged.

* * *

Daphne woke up earlier than usual after all she had agreed to meet Harry by the lake before breakfast. Yesterday he told her he needed to speak to her privately and she had to admit it had peaked her curiosity. She had planned on getting an early start that morning anyway. She would just have to move her little visit a bit sooner than expected before she went to meet Harry.

She decided to take a quick hot shower. She sighed tiredly, wishing she could stay in there forever. The scalding water helped her relax even when it turned her skin a slight pink. If her suspicions were correct this was going to be one stressful year.

She had sent a letter to her father the night before telling him that she had talked to Potter. She had related his reactions to the information she gave him and his agreement on the political alliance. Her father would probably contact Lady Longbottom to tell her the news. Daphne assumed she already knew thanks to Neville.

She was glad Neville had finally decided to approach Potter. This would move their plans along quite nicely. She just hoped that Harry wouldn't get upset with Neville once he found out her cousin had told her everything he knew about him, from the incident with the Philosopher's Stone which was vastly unknown by the rest of the school, to who had been behind the opening of the Chamber of Secrets and the miraculous escape of Sirius Black in third year. Neville had overheard Ron boast about it to one of the twins one evening, he told her that for once in his life he was glad that his classmates practically forgot that he was in their presence. On another occasion he had heard Hermione tell Ron what a shame it was for Harry to live with his horrible muggle relatives.

It had been an enlightening tale. Neville had made her promise not to tell any of her friends. Millie and Pansy knew the truth about the Chamber of Secrets when she told them accidentally and were forced to make an unbreakable vow not to reveal it to anyone. So much made sense after Neville told her everything and she had planned to use that information to approach Harry. His name coming out of the goblet had worked rather well for her, making it that much easier to speak to him without his friends hanging around.

When she finished showering she closed the tap and wrapped a fluffy towel around herself. She stood in front of the mirror and noticed the dark circles under her eyes. It was going to be a stressful year indeed.

Daphne dried her hair with her wand and applied some light make up, covering the skin under her eyes. She was sure that if she used a glamour charm it would probably wear of in the middle of one of her classes. She tied her long dark hair in a lose ponytail and donned her school uniform. She always wore skirts. She hated how the trousers made her legs itch. If only the school would allow them to purchase uniforms made of finer materials but it was strict policy for all the students to wear the same uniforms. At least the skirt didn't itch much.

She grabbed her silver and green tie and secured it around her neck. She went back to the room she shared with the other four girls and quietly took her schoolbag. Daphne had already told Millie not to wait for her before going to breakfast. Millie had been curious but all she got out of her was that she was meeting Harry before classes started.

She closed the door silently behind her and headed down the stairs. The common room was empty, as she had expected. In fact the sun wasn't even out yet. Not that she could know by looking through the common room. The place had no windows whatsoever. There was a high vaulted crystal ceiling that was covered by water from the Great Lake though, which gave the room an eerie atmosphere with its slightly green hues.

She walked to the entrance and tapped the stone wall with her wand and left through the opening heading towards the Great Hall. She took a left turn right before she reached the Great Hall and walked down a hallway that led to the Hufflepuff common room. She took another left turn and went down a staircase. What the majority of the students didn't know was that the kitchens were located down there. She stopped when she reached a large painting of a bowl of fruit. She looked around cautiously making sure no one had followed her and tickled the pear. It laughed and then transformed into a doorknob.

Immediately after Daphne walked into the kitchens a pair of house-elves approached her, "How is Mitzi be of service?"

"I'm looking for Cotton, can you get him for me?"

Mitzi the house-elf bowed and ran to where the rest of the Hogwarts house-elves were already busy making breakfast. After a moment she hurried back followed closely by the house-elf Daphne was looking for.

"Hello Cotton, how are you this morning?"

"I is being fine miss, miss is too kind to Cotton," the creature bowed until he touched his nose to the ground, "Cotton is wanting to know how Kitty is doing?"

Kitty was Daphne's elf. When she was a first year she had trouble adjusting to living away from home and after she wrote to her parents they had sent Kitty to watch over her. Of course it was all done without alerting any of the teaching staff knowing that it wasn't allowed but if Kitty was ordered to remain unseen it wouldn't be a problem.

Daphne had discovered that Kitty had made good friends with several of the Hogwarts house-elves, which until now she hadn't had a use for that bit of information. It was actually Kitty who had showed her how to find the kitchens.

"Kitty sends her regards and hopes you are doing well."

"Cotton is glad miss," the elf vowed again and Daphne sighed. She had tried telling him that bowing wasn't necessary but Cotton had insisted that it was the way proper house-elves should act.

"Cotton I was wondering if you or if any of your friends have heard anything concerning the Triwizard Tournament?"

Cotton looked around nervously and motioned for Daphne to come closer. She kneeled in front of the tiny elf as he whispered, "Cotton and several house-elves heard Professor Dumbledore tell other teachers that preparations for the first task will arrive in two weeks."

"Did he mention what the first task was going to be?"

The house-elf shook his head sadly, "Cotton only heard that but Cotton will keep an ear out for anything that will help miss."

Daphne was delighted. They had little less than a month to prepare Harry and in two weeks at the most they'd be able to find out what the first task was going to be. She thanked Cotton and promised to visit soon. She reminded him that if he heard anything he deemed extremely important to come look for her. The house-elf bowed one last time and insisted on giving her some food before she left. Now she could go and meet Harry by the lake without worries.

* * *

Ron was sitting at the Gryffindor table eating breakfast by himself. He wondered where Hermione was. _'Probably already at the library'_, he thought. He glanced up and down the table noticing for the first time since he arrived that Harry wasn't there either. Ron knew he wasn't in Gryffindor Tower because he was the last one out of their room that morning.

Last night he had tried to wait up for Neville and Harry but he had fallen asleep before they arrived. He wondered what they were up to and since when were Harry and Neville friends to begin with?

For the last two days Ron had been reluctant to open any letters from his home. He was sure that once his mother found out he was no longer friends with Harry she was surely going to murder him.

He hadn't meant for their confrontation to go that way. He admitted he felt a little jealous when Harry's name came out of the goblet; in fact he had always envied Harry Potter. Ever since he was little boy his parents talked about him like he was some kind of god. Boy-Who-Lived indeed. At one time he had overheard his parents talking with Professor Dumbledore revealing that Harry was living with his muggle relatives and was completely clueless about magic.

After that visit was when his father came up with the plan. They had talked about the blasted plan for years. Plotting how to get their family out of the dreaded blood feud. His father had told him that getting it nullified was extremely important for their family. They still had the Malfoy blood feud to deal with and Ron doubted they would ever get out of that one. He was positive that if Lucius Malfoy had his way it would never be broken.

It had been pounded into his head for quite some time to befriend Harry Potter once he met him at Hogwarts. It had been by sheer dumb luck his mother had spotted him outside platform nine and three quarters. It had given him the perfect opening, which he gladly took. And the luck just kept on coming when they were sorted into the same house. Ron had easily befriended him. He learned quickly the downside of being friends with Harry Potter. Every time Harry's curiosity got the best of him and got himself into all kinds of dangerous situations Ron somehow always ended risking his life for his troubles. From the giant chess board during first year to giant spiders in second year and lastly almost getting his leg chewed off by Sirius Black in third year.

His parents were quite mad at him when he hadn't managed to save Harry's life after all the opportunities that had presented themselves. But when it was actually happening the farthest thing on his mind was finding a way to rescue Harry.

This time when Harry's name was called he had followed Hermione's lead. She was quite certain that Harry was guilty and would spill the truth if he thought they would abandon him over the issue. It had backfired horribly.

Now he was risking his health again. This time it had nothing to do with Harry. His parents were going to be so mad at him for ruining their elaborate plans. If he was honest with himself he was better off being as far away from his former friend as he could get. He loved his life way more than some stupid blood feud. He was sure his father wouldn't see it that way, but for now there wasn't a thing they could do.

Ron was brought back to reality when he heard a loud screech and saw owls flying down near the tables carrying newspapers and letters for the students. The family owl, Errol crashed on the table in front of his breakfast, spilling Ron's pumpkin juice all over him. Ron shrunk away from the owl when it stood and extended one of its claws.

With shaking hands he untied the letter from the owl and opened it. Just as he suspected, it was a letter from his mother. Well at least it wasn't a howler.

**_Dear Ron_**

**_What in the world were you thinking? Throwing away all our plans over some stupid fight. And what's worse? I had to hear about it from a letter from your sister. After all the effort of inviting him to our home and treating him like family you had to go and ruin everything._**

**_I want you to find a way to mend that friendship, I don't care if you have to grovel and beg. You'll do as I say and that's final. This is important to our family Ron, don't you dare disappoint your father and me, is that clear?_**

**_Write soon. With love,_**

**_Your mother_**

Ron was completely screwed. While he headed to his Transfiguration class he pondered on giving into his family's wishes and just apologize to Harry. But then Hermione would kill him for going against her wishes. Maybe if he talked to her and explained, she would alter her plans to fit with the ones from his parents.

* * *

Harry was feeling slightly queasy. It was a good thing he hadn't eaten anything before coming out to the lake to meet Daphne. He sat down by the tree where he usually sat and wondered how to bring up his doubts to her without sounding stupid.

He wasn't alone for long. This time around he actually heard Daphne walking down the path that lead to the Great Lake.

He glanced at her and noticed how tired she looked. She was probably up late going over the lists they'd made yesterday. If he came out of this mess alive he promised himself to do anything she asked him.

Daphne sat in the very same spot she had when they first talked a couple of days ago. She was carrying her schoolbag and two small packages that smelled delicious. She opened one revealing a hot bowl of oat porridge. She grabbed a spoon from the same package and took the lid from the bowl. She finally looked at him. Daphne scrunched her face, "What?"

"Where did you get the food? The Great Hall was still empty when I came down here."

"Oh, this," she blushed lightly, "I'll show you later."

That just made Harry's curiosity deepen. He shook his head and continued watching her eat. She must've felt him watching her again making her sigh, "What now?"

This time Harry blushed and looked away. He hadn't meant to stare but he was downright starving even if he was feeling a bit nauseous. At that moment his stomach decided to agree with him when it made a loud noise making Daphne giggle.

"Do you want the other one?" she offered him the second package.

Harry blushed deeper. "Really? You don't mind?"

She shook her head and he took the package from her hands.

"Not at all, I'll probably won't even finish this one," she said taking another spoonful of porridge. After she swallowed she started talking again. "So, what did you need to tell me that was so important?"

Harry noted a hint of interest in her voice.

"Well, I was wondering if you could tell me how to deal with the Weasleys," he stuttered slightly. Hearing what came out of his mouth made him cringe. He wanted to bring the issue out slowly and this time it was Daphne who let her curiosity get the best of her.

"Why should I do that?" she laid the barely eaten porridge beside her and crossed her arms over her chest, leaning against the tree. '_Daphne had offered her help and now that he was asking for it she wouldn't give it?'_

Harry shuffled nervously; this wasn't going the way he had planed in his head. "Because you were the one that told me of this blood feud or something?"

"That doesn't mean I should tell you what to do. You're your own person, you need to make your own decisions."

"But…" he sighed brokenly, "I don't know what to do."

Daphne's eyes softened a bit, "Listen, all I can do is give you some advice. It can go in many different ways, you can cut all ties and walk away or you can confront them and hear them out because maybe they had a valid reason for not telling you, the list can go on and on but in the end its your choice."

Harry nodded thoughtfully, "You make it sound so easy, but what you need to understand is that the Weasleys made me feel like one of their own, I've been through so much with Ron and it feels weird not talking to him and Hermione."

"You don't have to decide what to do right now," she added after a while. It wasn't her place to interfere with this, as much as she would have loved for Harry to just dump the Weasleys and that know-it-all Granger girl like yesterday's trash.

"I just thought you would help, seeing as you don't know us very well. I guess I needed someone with an outsider's perspective. I could've asked Neville, but I know that even though we weren't close before he would probably tell me something completely different from what you said."

"That's the beauty of opinions Potter," she patted him softly on the shoulder, "But in the end it's your decision whether you forgive them or not. Do whatever you feel is right for you."

"Yeah, its just…" he shrugged, "I can't keep it out of my head. I keep wondering why they didn't tell me and why they treated me nicely and so on."

"Well, you'll forget all about it once you start training for the tournament."

Harry nodded in agreement. He knew Daphne was right, and he was glad he didn't have to make a decision right away. The problem was not thinking about it. Maybe he should write a letter to Sirius. Oh! He forgot to tell Sirius about his involvement in the tournament. He probably already knew, seeing as the news was published in the Prophet and everything. Still he made a mental note to write him after he finished classes.

* * *

Neville was walking down the hall heading to one of the greenhouses; Herbology was his last class of the day. Everyone though it was his favourite class because he got good grades but it just came to him naturally. If anyone had bothered asking him, he would have said Transfiguration. It was his favourite subject because he actually struggled with it and was quite a challenge to do well. He found the idea of transforming an object into another one completely fascinating. Not to mention trying to become an Animagus was one of the things he wanted to accomplish before he finished his Hogwarts education.

He arrived at greenhouse five and found Harry already there. He didn't want to sound like a harsh bastard but he was actually glad Harry's name was called to compete in the tournament. He knew Harry thought that Ron and Hermione were his best friends. If only Harry knew all the things they'd said behind his back. He was glad that nobody paid him any attention when he was near and that made eavesdropping very easy.

He had found out about a lot of things that at the time made him cringe and it wasn't even about him. But he knew if he tried to mention it to Harry before this whole goblet business Harry would've laughed himself silly and locked him in a loony bin. Now he had the chance to tell him everything and still he held back. Neville didn't want to hurt Harry further. And that's what was going to happen if Neville told him. He just needed to find the right time and hope for Harry to take it well.

He sat in a table beside Harry. "When did you get here? We left Charms at the same time."

Harry smirked slightly and shook his head, "I know of a few secret passages that save you a lot of time between classes. If you want I can show you a few later."

Neville nodded and leaned in slightly, "I didn't see you this morning before I left the common room and you weren't at the Great Hall either."

Harry's smirk turned into a blinding smile, "I went to meet Daphne by the lake before breakfast."

"And?"

Harry shrugged whispering, "I wanted to ask her what I should do about the Weasley situation."

Neville nodded thoughtfully, "An outsider's perspective, I presume?"

"I kind of told her that and she said it was my problem and my choice on how to go about it. She practically left me feeling the same as before."

"Well what did you expect? No one can solve your life for you. We con only make suggestions and it's up to you to make the best decision that benefits you."

Harry laughed. "When did you become so good at this advice thing?"

"I've always been good at it, you just never asked."

Neville saw Harry's face fall slightly. He hadn't meant for him to feel bad but it was the truth. Harry had isolated himself from the rest of the students since first year. Only surrounding himself with Ron, Hermione and the rest of the Weasleys. And right now was a good time to start branching out, even if he decided to branch towards Slytherin.

"I'm sorry Neville, I know we could have been friends sooner but at the time I didn't feel like anything was missing."

"Don't worry about it, now's as good a time as any," he winked slyly.

They got to work once Professor Sprout arrived. Neville looked around and noticed that Hermione had a thoughtful look on her face and wasn't raising her hand frantically as usual. Ron on the other hand had a sour look. He shook his head, '_if only I could read minds_'.

When they finished their assignment they headed towards the Great Hall. Neville was pleased when Harry told him they'd stop by to pick some food on the way to the abandoned classroom. He didn't really fancy another missed meal.

Once they were on their way Harry stopped by a worn tapestry. He looked at Neville with a small smile. He pushed the tapestry to the side revealing a narrow passageway. They went in and before Harry let go of the tapestry he took out his wand, lighting the tip with a whispered _lumos_. Neville pulled out his wand and did the same. They walked for a while in silence until they reached the end of the passageway. Once they were out Neville noticed they were in a familiar looking corridor.

Harry walked down the hallway and opened a door. Neville was shocked to find they came out just outside the abandoned corridor Daphne had showed them yesterday. He went inside the room and closed the door behind him.

"How on earth did you find that shortcut?"

Harry dropped his schoolbag in one of the desks and started pulling out books. "Well if I show you something do you promise not to say anything to anyone?"

Neville nodded and joined Harry by the desk. Harry pulled an old looking piece of parchment form his bag and started unfolding it.

"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."

Neville eyed Harry as if he was crazy. When he looked back he saw lines and word appear on the previously empty parchment.

"How? What?" Neville stuttered.

Harry gave a hearty laugh. "This is a map of Hogwarts; it shows you secret passages and where everything is located."

"What are those?" Neville pointed to the small moving dots with names beside them.

"Um, it also shows you where everyone is."

"That's brilliant!" Neville leaned in to take a closer look. He found the kitchens were near the Hufflepuff common room and that it was practically a few corridors away from the Great Hall.

"That's not fair!"

"What? Why?" Harry pulled the map against his chest protectively.

Neville blushed rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry Harry, I meant that the Hufflepuff common room is really near the Great Hall and the kitchens. Unlike the Gryffindor common room's location on the other side of the castle."

Harry let out a sigh and laughed nervously. "You scared me there for a moment. I thought having the map wasn't fair."

Neville blushed deeper, "How did you get this map anyway?"

Harry furrowed his brow, "Well the Weasley twins gave it to me last year. Back then I though it was because they took pity on me, now I wonder why they did it."

"Don't beat yourself over it mate," Neville gave him a pat on the back, "If I was in their place, I wouldn't have given it to you and I actually like you."

Harry laughed again, "Why do I get the feeling you're actually telling the truth?"

"Telling the truth about what?" a voice came from the doorway.

Both Harry and Neville jumped whirling around frantically. There in the doorway stood Millicent Bulstrode with a slight smirk on her face.

"Don't do that!" Harry yelped.

Millie laughed at the scared faces on the two Gryffindor boys. She walked in and dumped her books on the desk near them.

"What's this you got here?" she grabbed the map that was laying on the desk and eyed it curiously.

Harry practically shrieked and tried to take the map away from Millie, "None of your business!"

She swatted his hand away, "Now now, we all have to learn to share sometime."

"Please give it back," Harry sighed in defeat.

Neville was just standing awkwardly by his side. Harry would probably end up telling the others what the map did. If they hadn't been so distracted they would have heard Millicent approach.

Millie handed the map back to Harry, "Are you going to tell me what this is and why is there a dot with my name beside it with both of your names near mine?"

"Dots with names?" Daphne said making Neville jump a second time, "What in the world are you talking about?"

"And what's got you so jumpy?" Daphne said turning to Neville.

Neville shrugged and looked back to Harry and Millicent. It made Daphne focus her attention back on them too.

Harry shook his head and sat down in one of the chairs surrounding the desk. Neville thought it was a shame to have to share the newly learned information with the girls. He really liked Daphne, she was family and all but he knew that it was very likely she would use this new information as a means to an end.

Harry made them promise not to tell anyone just as he did with Neville before and started to explain the mechanics of the map.

Both Daphne and Millicent were fascinated with it, which in turn gave Neville a very bad feeling. Knowing his cousin nothing bad was actually going to happen. Just as he got a bad feeling when she first approached him asking about Harry. At first he had been sceptical about her reasons but once she promised not to tell anyone and promised in return to let him in on the plan, he had told her everything he knew. He really hoped Harry wouldn't get mad at him for telling Daphne about him. It was actually for a good cause. Once Harry knew everything he would understand. He really hoped he did.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: All characters, places, and anything familiar from the Harry Potter books and movies belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros.**

**A/N: Thanks to all the people who read, reviewed, followed and favorited the story. Here's the next chapter. It will probably be the last update ****before New Years so enjoy and let me know what you think.**

* * *

**_Chapter 4_**

Telling Millicent and Daphne about the Marauder's map hadn't actually gone so bad. Millicent even asked Harry to borrow the map sometime to see if she could find what spells and charms were used to create it. Harry could've told her that it was made by his father and his friends and could probably just ask Sirius about it but decided not to tell Millicent that. Better learning experience for her and all.

He did agree to let her study the map on the condition that she'd do it whenever they were in the abandoned classroom. She had readily agreed.

After a while Harry and Neville had walked back to the Gryffindor common room. He had showed Neville another shortcut that led them a few corridors down the painting of the Fat Lady, cutting their trek in half. They stated the password and went through the portrait hole, finding the common room full of students. No one paid them any attention when they walked through heading straight up to the fourth floor.

Their room was thankfully empty. Harry hadn't seen Ron or Hermione in the common room and guessed Hermione had dragged Ron to the library.

"Harry, I'm so sorry about the map."

Neville's comment pulled him out of his musings. "It's alright, they would've found out one way or another."

"You can always leave it in your trunk, there's no way they can come up here," Neville suggested.

Harry shook his head, "Right now I don't trust Ron not to go through my things. Maybe we can do some research about locking charms later."

"Why don't you ask Millicent or Daphne if they know something?"

Harry shook his head again, "I have to learn to rely on myself for a change. Hermione always lost her patience rather quickly and ended up giving us the answers. She even went as far as to check our essays and correct them before we handed them in."

Neville opened and closed his mouth several times then a small smile graced his face, "That's actually really sad. But I'm glad you want to do things yourself."

Harry nodded. Talking to Daphne that morning and then with Neville during class got him thinking that they were probably right. They could give him all the advice they wanted but in the end it was he who had the last word with things like the blood feud and his friendship with Ron and Hermione. He knew how to nullify the blood feud thanks to the explanation Daphne gave him after she showed him that blasted book. The trouble was what to do? Then he remembered that he wanted to send Sirius a letter. Maybe his Godfather would give him some much needed suggestions.

"Hey Nev, I'm going to the owlery before curfew but don't wait up," Harry took his schoolbag with him, thinking of writing the letter once he got there. It was a good thing his invisibility cloak was currently in his bag. He had revealed enough secrets for the day.

"Sure thing Harry, just be careful."

Harry nodded and headed back to the common room. He saw that all the students were still occupied and slipped silently through the portrait hole.

Once outside he looked around the empty corridor, making sure no one was coming and pulled out the cloak. Once the silky material covered him from head to toe he walked cautiously to the West Tower. When he arrived at the owlery he called his owl. Hedwig flew immediately to his shoulder, hooting and nipping his ear.

"Hello girl." the owl hooted softly. Harry stroked her feathers lightly, "I'm sorry I haven't been here in a while but there's a lot that's been going on."

Hedwig nipped his ear again, "I know, I promise to visit more often."

Harry used his wand and cast a quick _scourgify_ to clean a space to sit down. He took out a piece of parchment and a book to use for support.

**_Dear Snuffles_**

**_First of all how are you? Are you safe? I promised to write and keep you updated and well I guess you already read that my name came out of the goblet in the Daily Prophet. If not, surprise! My name came out of the Goblet of Fire. I know I always seem to find myself in trouble, but as always trouble manages to find me. It's all right though, I have some new friends who are willing to help me so don't worry about it. By the way I'm no longer speaking to Ron and Hermione because they don't believe I didn't do it._**

**_On another note, I found out some disturbing news that doesn't concern the tournament. Recently one of my new friends told me what the term blood-traitor meant. Does it sound familiar to you? I know we haven't had much time to sit and talk about personal matters even less about my family history but the moment you saw that I was friends with Ron Weasley you could have mentioned something. I grew up not knowing about my parents and magic and knew nothing about history and political standings. I'm still practically in the dark but trying to improve. Professor Lupin did have time to fill me in but didn't say a word either, yet he claimed to be a friend to my parents. Then we have Professor Dumbledore and the Weasleys themselves. Why does everybody want to keep me ignorant?_**

**_I know I shouldn't take it out on you but the pressure from the tournament and my friends calling me a liar is just too much. I had to vent somewhere. I trust you had a reason for not saying anything at the time and I would like to know what you think about the situation._**

**_Hope to hear from you soon_**

**_H.P._**

Harry sealed the letter and tied it to a barn owl, much to Hedwig's displeasure. "Take this letter to Sirius Black."

The owl flew out into the night. Harry said goodbye to Hedwig and promised next time he needed to send a letter he'd come to her. Harry donned his invisibility cloak and walked back to Gryffindor Tower. He didn't have any problems on his way back and reached the portrait safely. He tiptoed to the common room and stopped when he heard voices whispering.

"Hermione, what are we going to do?" Ron's voice carried all the way to where Harry was standing. He moved carefully until he was right behind the couch where his former friends were sitting.

"I'm still thinking," Hermione said while putting her books and essays in her bag. "There's got to be a way for us to get the truth out of Harry. Professor Dumbledore said to leave it alone but I just can't sit still until he admits he tossed his name in."

Ron shuffled nervously in the couch, "I don't know Hermione maybe we should do what Professor Dumbledore says and leave it alone."

"What's gotten into you? Yesterday you were all about making him talk, now you want to do nothing?" she eyed Ron suspiciously. Harry was fuming. That's what it was all about? They were so sure he had done it and were trying to make him confess? He thought about revealing himself and scaring the crap out of them but was it really worth it?

He knew they weren't his friends anymore and they would probably get what was coming to them once everyone found out the truth. It would be a far better punishment to be shunned by all of Hogwarts. He just hoped Daphne was right about the students changing their minds after the first task.

Harry backed away slowly and climbed up the stairs. Before going in he took off the invisibility cloak and stuffed it carefully in his bag. He needed to start looking into things. He couldn't continue relying on others to feed him whatever knowledge they deemed important. He just didn't like going to the library. The idea of confronting the Weasleys seemed more appealing the longer he thought about it. He was still a bit doubtful about the rest of Ron's family but his friendship with Ron and Hermione was all but dead.

He decided to wait for Sirius' response; maybe he had some useful advice as to what would be more convenient to do. Daphne and Neville kept telling him to do what felt right. It wasn't helping him any. He knew they didn't want to make decisions for him, which was a good thing, he remembered last year when Hermione took his broom to Professor McGonagall without asking him first. He had been furious with Hermione for going over him and taking his choice away.

Well he couldn't do anything at the moment. He noticed Neville was already asleep along with Dean and Seamus. He changed quietly and went straight to bed not waiting to see if Ron came in.

* * *

The next week went by exceedingly slow for Harry. Between classes, homework and trying new spells for the tournament had him falling asleep at night immediately after his head touched the pillow. He wasn't sorry though, he preferred being tired over doing nothing.

The four of them had gone at least once to the Hospital Wing. One day while practicing the _impedimenta_ jinx they had scratched and bruised themselves when the spell didn't work quite well at the beginning. They took turns throwing small metal cubes at each other and the spell was supposed to slow them down. Neville had suggested that throwing objects upwards was better but his idea was shut down immediately.

"Nev, if you see them coming right at you maybe the fear of being hit will make you work it out faster."

"That's one way of putting it," Daphne said between sniggers.

Neville shot her an evil filled glare, "You just want to see them hit me, don't you?"

"Guilty!" she laughed. "Just the look on your face is enough to lift my mood for the rest of the day."

"Remind me why I agreed to do this?" Neville backed away from Daphne, standing closer to Harry.

"Because this way we'll learn faster, I don't have much time to sit around and study the theory behind the spells. And you all agreed to learn with me. Look at it this way once we master all this stuff you'll be able to defend yourself better."

"Alright, this better be worth it," Neville grumbled under his breath taking his place reluctantly and lifting his wand waiting for the next blow.

* * *

Daphne and Harry were currently walking to the Hospital Wing. Today they had worked all afternoon with the summoning charm. Harry was the first to master it after trying several times. At first when he realized it wasn't working he decided to shout the spell making one of the cubes they used for practice come flying straight at his face. Harry didn't react on time and it had hit him in the face shattering his glasses in the process. The little pieces of glass made small cuts on the left side of his face. Daphne had volunteered to take him to see the matron.

"Why are we going again? I said I was fine." he was sulking, Daphne probably knew he was sulking and he was walking as slow as possible trying in vain to change her mind. He hated the Hospital Wing. The school nurse always hovered and tried to make him swallow a million and one potions.

"I know you're fine but you need to get those cuts healed."

"They don't actually hurt," he said touching his face and wincing.

Daphne looked at him and sighed. "Lets just get this over with, the sooner you get there the faster will be out of the Hospital Wing."

When Madam Pomfrey saw Harry she immediately tried to force him to lie down in one of the hospital beds. He had refused quite loudly making Daphne smirk slightly. The nurse fixed Harry's face with a wave of her wand and tried to feed him a potion. She finally let him go once Harry assured her he'd take it before bed and walked out, followed closely by Daphne.

While they were heading back to the classroom Harry threw the potion out a window. Daphne asked him why he didn't let the matron give him a potion for the pain and bruises.

Harry had given her a skeptical look, "Because after drinking those potions, I feel all the workout I've done is for nothing."

She shook her head and looked at him as if he was crazy, "Why would you want to be in pain?"

"It's like doing exercise, the muscles in my body have to adjust. If I drink a potion to make it go away then it feels it was all for nothing."

"Alright, it makes sense in an odd sort of way."

"Glad you see things my way," he bumped his shoulder softly with hers.

"Don't flatter yourself Potter."

Harry shook his head, "Back to last names are we Greengrass?"

"Oh just shut up and walk faster, Neville and Millie are probably slacking off while we're away."

Harry and Daphne continued bickering all the way back to the abandoned classroom. They encountered a few students in the corridors and they still looked at the both of them as if they were some sort of a freak show. It would take a long time for the rest of Hogwarts to acknowledge a Slytherin and Gryffindor friendship.

* * *

While Daphne and Harry were off to the Hospital Wing, Neville and Millicent continued practicing. For about ten minutes, that is. The other two were forcing them to train with Harry to help him but in reality Neville was really tired and ached all over. Millicent sat down and started muttering and waving her wand at Harry's map.

"So," Neville tried to address Millicent casually, "When are we going to tell Harry everything?"

"I don't know. It's Daphne's show, she's the one calling the shots." Millie shrugged.

Neville paced nervously, "You know he's not going to take it well once we tell him and the longer we wait the worst it's going to be."

"I know," Millie focused on Neville for a moment before going back to studying the map, "We both agree with you but Daphne thinks it would be best if we waited at least after the first task. It won't do us any favors if he injures himself because he got distracted."

"I guess so," Neville knew it wasn't anything bad but with what happened with Ron and Hermione he learned that Harry didn't take keeping things from him really well.

* * *

The weighting of the wands had been a disaster from the moment Colin Creevey fetched him from Potions class. Snape mocked him as usual; throwing underhanded insults his way. Harry had left the classroom fuming. When was Snape ever going to leave him alone?

And things just kept getting worse. When he arrived at the classroom they were using for the ceremony, Harry received hate filled glares from Cedric and the French veela. Krum just ignored him, which was somewhat better than the other two.

He saw that Professor Dumbledore was with the Headmistress of Beauxbatons and Igor Karkaroff from Durmstrang along with Mr. Ollivander and the other two judges.

Harry hadn't talked to the Headmaster since his name was called. He didn't know what to think of the old wizard. If he took what Hermione had said as true then Professor Dumbledore was up to something. And this was completely different from his issue with the Weasleys who strangely enough hadn't approached him, not even the twins. He didn't want to rock the boat with the Headmaster until he found out exactly what was going on. The problem was how did he go about getting that knowledge?

He had yet to tell Daphne and Millicent about what Hermione said a week ago. He had honestly forgotten about it. It wasn't as if he had all the time in the world now. Most of his time lately had been spent studying and practicing.

While he was pondering this a strange lady came out of nowhere and literally pulled Harry from his thoughts. She dragged him by the sleeve of his robe to a broom cupboard and closed the door behind her before he could even manage a scream. Harry tried to sidestep the crazy woman and run back outside.

"Now Mr. Potter, I'm Rita Skeeter and I write for the Daily Prophet."

Harry nodded waiting for the reporter to sit down before bolting from the cupboard. He wasn't in the mood to be interviewed by some crazy reporter who twisted the truth to her liking.

Mr. Ollivander cleared his throat once he saw Harry approach and everyone focused their attention on the old wizard. "I believe it's time to begin."

Mr. Ollivander had checked all the contestants' wands and declared them in good condition. When he finished a photographer came and started moving the people in the room around and taking pictures left and right of all the champions. Half an hour later Harry wanted to scratch his eyes out. All the while Rita kept pestering him with incessant questions.

When he finally managed to escape he found an empty corridor and pulled out the map. He saw that Neville was in their common room while Millicent was near the great lake with Pansy Parkinson and Gracie Moon. What was Daphne doing near the kitchens? How did Daphne know where the kitchens were to begin with?

* * *

Daphne walked down the deserted hallway. She was on her way to the kitchen. Cotton had left her a note with her clean school uniform that morning and she had to wait until classes ended to visit him.

She had received a letter from her father the other day advising her to be careful. He had heard from Lucius Malfoy that there was trouble brewing. They thought the Dark Lord would reappear soon because his dark mark had started hurting and becoming visible again. That had Mr. Malfoy and her father really worried. During her second year she had overheard her parents talking about the Malfoys. Not much was said but Daphne had been curious enough to badger her father for information.

Julien Greengrass had scolded her only daughter for eavesdropping but ended up telling her what she wanted to know anyway. Julien had said that Lucius had offered his service to the Dark Lord when he first rose to power. Lucius had discovered by accident that it was all a smokescreen. They had been promised solutions and the removal of the muggleborns from positions that could damage the wizarding world but the only thing the Dark Lord wanted was to rule their world one step at the time. The first to go were the muggleborns. Soon he would take on the rest of their society.

That did not sit well with Lucius; he was repulsed by the idea of raping and murdering in cold blood. He was by no means a muggleborn lover, he would have been happy with banishing them from their world but killing was taking things too far, not to mention going after half-bloods and purebloods later on. After he learned his wife Narcissa was pregnant he tried walking away, only to discover that the dark mark served as some kind of tracking signal. There would be no escaping the Dark Lord as long as he lived.

Lucius had tried lying low for a while. Searching for ways to sever the connection he had to the Dark Lord. Then the unthinkable happened. The Dark Lord fell and banished after going after the Potters. Lucius had escaped the Death Eater trials by pleading he was under the imperious curse. Everyone knew it was a weak excuse but he wasn't planning on spending the rest of his life in Azkaban. Paying a few officials hadn't hurt either. After a few years Lucius and Julien had decided to merge part of their companies and bought several muggle ones, managing to increase their capital greatly. They had continued doing business with muggles, using half-bloods as intermediaries for years.

Daphne had been intrigued, after all Draco loathed anything related to muggles and muggleborns. If he only knew that his father worked with muggles, even if it was through middlemen. Her father had explained that there was going to be a change soon. Maybe not noticeable at first but the muggles were growing at an alarming rate and if the wizards didn't bring their society up to date they would disappear.

That's when it occurred to her to learn all there was to know about muggles. It had been a rather difficult task. The terms they used and their technology was far more advanced than their own. The wizards relied too much on their magic for everything, while the muggles had adapted without any magic whatsoever. She was still learning and had a long way to go still.

Daphne arrived at the portrait that guarded the kitchens. She wondered what Cotton had heard of the tournament. She liked the small house-elf, after first year he had taken quite a liking to her and he was the one that took care of the Slytherin common room along with several other house-elves. She was about to tickle the pear when she felt someone touch her shoulder. She yelped and turned around.

Daphne found herself face to face with Harry. "Don't do that!"

Harry gave her a curious look. She huffed and turned around tickling the pear, "How did you know where I was?"

Harry smirked and showed her the Marauder's map. "I forgot you had a way of finding people."

"How did you know where the kitchens were?" he replied.

"My house-elf Kitty is friends with one of the Hogwarts house-elves. She showed me how to find the kitchens," she omitted the part about being scared and wanting to go home. It wouldn't do any good to show vulnerability now.

"So, what are we doing here?" Harry said as he followed Daphne once the portrait opened.

"Remember when I said I had ears everywhere concerning the tournament? I have several of the house-elves listening in on Professor Dumbledore."

Harry nodded. He had forgotten all about that. He had been curious at the time. Go figure she literally meant she had ears everywhere. It didn't sit very well with him about using the house-elves to their advantage but they certainly needed the information.

Harry and Daphne soon found themselves surrounded with house-elves asking them if they wanted anything. Above all the noise Harry heard a high-pitched voice and cringed.

"Harry Potter sir is here! Harry Potter sir came looking for Dobby!"

_Oh no_. Harry felt a pull on his trousers. Looking down he was met with the enormous eyes of Dobby. He glanced at Daphne who gave him a questioning look.

"I helped free him from the Malfoys," Harry supplied shrugging and trying to untangle himself from Dobby's hold.

Daphne shook her head, a frown gracing her face. She moved to one of the tables and sat down. She whispered something to one of the house-elves, who nodded and snapping her fingers before disappearing. Harry approached Daphne and sat down beside her.

"What was that all about?" Harry asked while Dobby was still clinging to him babbling incomprehensively.

"The house-elf I came looking for is not here. Mitzi went to find him for me."

There was a pop and two house-elves appeared beside them. The male grabbed Dobby forcefully and started scolding him.

"Dobby shouldn't be here. Dobby has to clean Gryffindor common room!"

"But Harry Potter sir is here to see Dobby!" the house-elf whined pitifully. Harry and Daphne watched with interest as Cotton grabbed Dobby again while the other house-elf tried to attach himself to Harry a second time.

Harry moved away and sent a pleading look to Cotton. There was a second pop and the two house-elves disappeared. Cotton popped back a second later without Dobby.

"Cotton is sorry. Dobby is now doing his work like a proper house-elf should."

"It's alright Cotton. I found your note this morning. I came as soon as I could," Daphne addressed the small house-elf and then looked at Harry, "He's the one helping me find out about the tournament."

"Cotton did miss. Cotton heard Professor Dumbledore tell the other Headmasters about the first task."

"That's brilliant Cotton, what did you hear?" Harry said letting his excitement show. They were finally going to know what he had to do. Now they could focus their training specifically for it.

"Cotton heard they are bringing dragons sir."

Both Harry and Daphne paled in shock. Dragons. He had to fight dragons? He was so dead. He felt Daphne rub his back gently.

"Don't worry, will go to the Library right now and look up books on dragons."

Harry nodded dumbly. He was going to die. There was no way he could beat a dragon.

"Cotton did you hear anything else?"

"Yes miss. Cotton heard that the champions have to get a golden egg from the dragon."

"We can work with that, at least you don't have to kill it, just incapacitate it long enough to take the egg." Daphne nodded and stood up pulling Harry by the sleeve of his robe.

"Thank you so much Cotton. If you hear anything else leave a note like you did today."

"Cotton is happy to help miss," the house-elf bowed and left to join the other house-elves that had already started preparing dinner.

Daphne and Harry left the kitchens and headed straight to the Library. Harry had been silent all the way there. It was bothering Daphne quite a bit. The short time she had known him had revealed he was quite vocal about the tournament and training.

"Harry are you alright?"

He shook his head, "Am I alright? I have to face a dragon! Of course I'm not alright!"

Finally a reaction she could work with, "I know you can do it, after facing a basilisk and a hundred dementors, surely you can fight a dragon?"

Harry froze and stopped walking. He looked around and pulled Daphne forcefully to an empty classroom.

"How the hell did you know that?" his voice was shaking with anger.

Daphne started to panic. She forgot she hadn't told him about talking to Neville about Harry. Of all the times to slip it had to be now. She decided to come clean. Leaving out any information about their plan for a later date, preferably after the first task.

"I asked Neville about you over the summer break," she stuttered backing away from him.

"Neville? How did Neville find out? I haven't told anyone. The only people that knew were Ron and Hermione and probably some of the teachers," he started pacing back and forth in front of Daphne.

"He heard Ron boasting about it to the twins a few days before school let out last year."

"And why did you wanted to know about me?" Harry looked at her with distrust. She guessed she deserved it. After everything Harry had been through with his former friends, she had to go and keep things from him. From his point of view it didn't look good. Not good at all.

"I planned to approach you about helping me and my family all along. I had to know everything I could about you. See how receptive you were to the idea. What Neville told me helped understand you a bit. You don't like everyone's attention focused on you. You prefer to keep your life private. Your loyal and brave, if not a bit foolish."

Harry raised an eyebrow but didn't say a word. Well at least he had calmed down a bit, "The tournament just helped me move everything a bit sooner. It was giving me a headache finding a way to get close to you without your friends following you everywhere."

"So there's no ulterior motive or anything?" Harry finally decided to speak.

"Well…" she gulped nervously. "There are a couple of thing but I prefer to tell you once the first task is over."

"Why not tell me now?" his voice started to sound angry again. How could she put it in a way to satisfy his curiosity without telling him?

"I promise to tell you everything just wait after the first task please?"

Harry started turning red again. He walked a few steps until his nose almost touched hers. Neville was right. He wasn't taking things too well.

"I…" she tried to move away but a desk stopped her retreat. "If I tell you you're going to be too preoccupied to fight a dragon properly."

"That's a lame excuse and you know it!" his voice took a menacing tone.

Daphne grabbed the edge of the desk arching her back a bit and tried to get away from his face, "I know it is and I promise its nothing bad."

"Either way I'll be distracted if you don't tell me. I'll be thinking what it could be and I'll end up burned to a crisp or something."

Daphne gulped again. He was right and it was her own fault for hinting there was more but she didn't want to lie to him. She thought he would let it go if she promised to tell him everything later. This just showed her how little she acltually knew about him. Neville could tell her all the stories he wanted but in the end Harry was the only one that knew himself.

"All right. I'll tell you all you want to know. Can we just go somewhere else? Maybe the abandoned classroom we use to practice?"

"This is not some excuse to avoid telling me?" he finally backed from Daphne a bit. She let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding.

"I promise to tell you, just not here."

Harry nodded and walked to the door waiting for her, "Lead the way."

"Do you want to stop by the Library for the books first?"

"Might as well," Harry said walking beside her. It would be lucky if Neville and Millie were in the classroom when they arrived. This way they could all explain things to Harry. She just hopped that telling him now wouldn't get him killed during the task.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: All characters, places, and anything familiar from the Harry Potter books ****belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros.**

**A/N: Thanks to my wonderful new beta KennethRose! Also thanks to all the people who read, reviewed, followed and favorited the story. I couldn't resist posting before New Years... So enjoy!**

* * *

_**Chapter 5**_

Harry was angry and confused. Why did things like this always happen to him? Hadn't he suffered enough with Ron and Hermione and half of the school thinking he cheated; stabbing him in the back? Now the people he had started to trust pulled this on him. He wasn't really mad that Neville told Daphne about what happened in the last three years; the problem was that she wanted something more from him and wasn't being forward with what it was.

Daphne should have told him from the very beginning, in his opinion. He didn't think he was being unfair in thinking that. At least she had been honest when he asked if there was more, and was about to tell him what she was planning to do above and beyond getting him to agree to form an alliance between their families… despite him having to force her hand a bit.

They were walking quietly to the library. Neither knew what to say to the other. Daphne was thinking of ways to approach the subject without Harry rejecting it outright. She wanted to take advantage of the visit to the library and grab several books that would help explain things to Harry.

When they arrived at the library they separated to finish faster. What Harry didn't count on was running into Hermione. She eyed him with a suspicious look and huffed; her arms folding across her chest in her stereotypically superior manner – a haughty look on her face. "Oh, now you come to the library on your own?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry fired back heatedly. He was in no mood to deal with Hermione right now, and he hoped his cold eyes warned her to stop while he was at least restraining his temper.

"Well, you never wanted to come to the library with me. I had to drag you here every time we had to study." Apparently Hermione hadn't gotten the memo that a quiet, narrow-eyed Harry was a _dangerous_ Harry.

"So? What I do here is my business, I don't have to tell you everything."

"Honestly Harry, stop deluding yourself. Without me you're going to fail your classes. What are you doing now that I'm not helping with your essays?" Her voice was grating his nerves, and her comments weren't much better. The smug tone she used was making his anger rise quicker; bubbling under the surface of his skin – struggling to break loose.

"I don't have time for this. I have better things to do than stand around and listen to you act as if I'm a worthless idiot." Harry turned around and started heading for the creatures section of the library.

"You know its true!" she called after him, "You're nothing without Ron and me!"

Harry stopped dead in his tracks and turned around slowly; his emerald eyes narrowed to slits and his words almost hissed out from between his teeth. "Is that so? I've had no trouble keeping up with assignments, getting at _least_ Es I'll have you know, and on top of that train—"

"Is there a problem?" Daphne walked up to Harry and stood beside him. Harry could tell she was furious, maybe even more than he was.

"It's none of your business Greengrass." Hermione's voice broke through Harry's thoughts and scratched away at the very, very thin barrier separating his anger from the outside world. "You better run along. This is between me and my friend."

"Your friend? Are you sure?" Daphne smug tone was obvious. She crossed her arms over her chest and took a few steps towards Hermione.

"Leave it alone Daphne, it's not worth it," Harry said, wanting to get out of there as fast as possible. The last thing he wanted was to go off his nut in the middle of the library. As it was the volume of conversation was risking Madam Pince's notice.

"Now you're hanging out with Slytherins?" Hermione was losing her temper. Her bushy hair seemed to be crackling with energy, and had he been any less angry or serious Harry would've laughed at how it looked like she'd just jabbed a fork into an electrical socket. "You of all people? You loathe them, why would you associate with her? You wait until Ron hears about this."

Harry's green eyes flashed with anger. "Who I'm friends with doesn't concern you anymore," he said taking a step closer. "You think I'm a liar and a cheat. You lost any privileges and rights to call me a friend when you didn't believe me."

Hermione took a step back, cowering slightly – her eyes wide at the tone that Harry was speaking to her in. "This isn't you Harry, you would never stoop so low as to associate with the likes of her."

"The likes of her?" Daphne took out her wand and pointed it straight at Hermione's face; the tip glowing an ominous red. "Who do you think you are mudblood!"

Harry cringed. He was mad at Hermione but calling her that awful name was taking it a step too far. He grabbed Daphne's free hand and pulled her back to his side. Hermione's face went from red to white in an instant. She looked at Harry expecting him to defend her but he just shook his head sadly.

"Come on Daphne, _she's_ not worth it."

Hermione cringed and her eyes started to water. She cleared her throat and all but whispered, "This is all Neville's fault." her voice started rising with each word until she ended almost screaming, "He's putting ideas in your head. I know this isn't you!"

"Leave Neville out of it!" Daphne growled ferally, letting go of Harry's hand and taking a step closer to Hermione, making the now-terrified Gryffindor take a step back. "He's better than you in every way. You're just trying to blame someone else for something that you caused all on your own." Daphne turned around and grabbed Harry's hand, "Let's go Harry, we have a lot to do."

Harry gave Hermione a pitying look and followed Daphne through the stacks of books. Daphne was right; Hermione brought this all on herself. He wasn't looking forward to Ron's reaction either, although it was strange they hadn't said anything before seeing as he hadn't hidden his friendship with Daphne and Millicent. He mentally shrugged; there was nothing they could do. Harry and Daphne roamed through several stacks before taking an armful of books to Madam Pince's desk and signing them out.

"I'm sorry I called Granger that name," Daphne whispered regretfully while they walked through one of the deserted corridors. "She just made me so angry talking to you like you were some kind of imbecile."

"Thanks, but I can defend myself all on my own," Harry said with a slight smile. It was the first time he'd smiled all day.

"I know you can… but still, she's just a jealous cow who can't stand seeing you doing well without her help." She huffed, making a small grin twitch on Harry's lips, but he could still tell she was mad.

There was nothing much he could do but agree with what she was saying. "I do wonder sometimes. Hermione strives in recognition and attention. She doesn't take it well when people do better than her, let alone without her."

"No! Really?" Her sarcastic remark only made Harry's smile broaden. He really hoped that what she wanted from him was nothing bad. He would be crushed if it was. He had started seeing the two Slytherins as friends along with Neville. Harry knew there was still a lot they didn't know about him but it could be fixed with time… at least if they proved they were trustworthy.

Daphne was nervous but was trying her level best not to show it as she walked silently next to the raven-haired Gryffindor. She had to find a way to tell Harry everything without him blowing a gasket. If he didn't want to be a part of the secret it was up to him. He wasn't a vital part of the plan, though it would carry more weight if he did.

They arrived at the classroom and Daphne let out a sigh of relief when she opened the door and found Neville and Millie waiting for them.

"Hey mate, how did the thing with the wands go?"

"Well if you could call Skeeter badgering me for answers while the pretty boy from Hufflepuff and the French veela shot deadly looks my way then it went smashingly!"

Both Neville and Millie laughed loudly, "Wow Potter, Skeeter tried to interview you? If you need any help handling her let me know. I heard Pansy's mother is good friends with that loony."

Harry shook his head. More Slytherins. Pansy Parkinson was a pain in his ass. She followed Draco around like a lost puppy, though she tended to stay in the shadows while Malfoy enjoyed the spotlight. "If I need anything I'll let you know."

Daphne dropped her schoolbag and the additional books she was carrying from the library on the desk that was littered with parchments and other things. She eyed the three other people in the room and sighed. This was not going to be easy.

"Neville?" she addressed her cousin, "Harry and I were talking earlier and I told him that I asked you for information on him during the summer."

Neville paled a bit and shot Harry an apologetic look.

"It's alright Nev, it wasn't anything someone who paid enough attention could've heard in the common room."

"I'm really sorry Harry, I wanted to tell you but we wanted to wait until after the first task. I saw how you reacted to Ron and Hermione and I know it's a different situation but still I know it's no excuse and it should've been me who told you and—" Neville's ramble was almost incomprehensible with how guilty he felt.

Harry patted Neville in the back reassuringly and gave a small smile. "Really Nev, it's fine."

"No its not," he said moving away from Harry, his eyes averted. "But I did make her promise not to tell anyone, and she's family even though she's a Slytherin… I'm still a bit iffy about her to be honest."

"Iffy? Really cousin? Have I ever hexed you or played a prank on you?"

"Do you really want me to answer that question?" Neville raised an eyebrow. The tension in the room was beginning to evaporate, much to Daphne's relief. "Do you remember that time last year at my house when you turned my hair green and it wouldn't come off?"

"Green does look good on you," she snickered and turned to Harry to explain. "My family and I were spending the summer at his home and Neville's Gran forbade us from using magic in the house, went as far as taking our wands away."

"You evil witch! My hair was green for a whole month!" Harry laughed along with Millicent. It was good to see Neville this confident. Normally one would see him cowering in front of other students rather than being so outspoken.

"My teeth were stained for a week! Where did you get the idea to pour ink in my tea anyway?" Daphne retorted, and an uncharacteristically smug smirk came to Neville's lips.

"I read it in some book from Gran's library."

Harry and Millicent were laughing so hard they had tears running down their faces and kept looking back and forth between Neville and Daphne.

"You never told me how you managed to turn my hair green without magic," Neville huffed, "Gran said I had it coming and wouldn't turn it back to its original colour."

"Well I saw on the telly my father fixed to work with magic how muggles change their hair colour with some chemical or something... so I just dumped some in your shampoo bottle. The sad thing was you kept using it."

"You little witch! You better watch your back next summer!" Neville's face turned red… in embarrassment or anger nobody could guess. Harry and Millie kept laughing while Daphne threw a smug smile at Neville.

"You're on!" Daphne crossed her arms and sat in one of the empty chairs. Harry gave Daphne a meaningful look waiting for her to start talking. That made her sit ramrod straight. Neville gave her a curious look while Daphne just shook her head at him.

"Back to what we were talking before," Daphne cleared her throat, "We aren't going to wait till after the task to tell Harry about 'the plan', he wants to know right now."

Neville sat down in front of Daphne and gave a resigned sigh, "Please just listen to her, it's nothing bad."

Harry shrugged, taking the empty chair beside Daphne while Millicent took the remaining chair. "No offence Nev but the way you say it makes it sound pretty bad."

Neville gulped loudly and shrunk back in his chair. "Sorry, it's just at the beginning it's hard to believe."

"Right then," Daphne said, making everyone's attention focus on her. "Harry here knows practically nothing about politics and wizarding traditions right?"

Harry blushed but nodded motioning for her to continue. "Well around 1944 a group of students got together to form an underground society. There were people from all houses, all from families that were well known back then as they are now. Some of them have died out or moved out of the country. Anyway, all of them had some weight in society, from connections to money. They gathered to discuss politics, traditions, what could be changed and what had to stay the same in our society."

At the moment Harry was more curious than mad. It didn't sound bad. If the secret society still existed maybe they wanted him to join or something. Daphne gave him a look to make sure everything was still fine. Seeing his curious gaze she continued. "It mainly consisted of prefects and head boy and girls and started gathering what could be seen as recruits from as far as third year," here she paused and looked uncertainly at Harry. "And there were no muggleborns allowed _at all_, and there were very few light family members that were considered exceptions."

Harry's gaze hardened. "So it was some sort of anti-muggleborn club or a dark wizards gathering?"

"Potter it just means that only smart students with political or financial weight were allowed," Millie huffed from her place. Harry crossed his arms and sat back in his chair. To all of them it looked like a petulant child on the verge of throwing a temper tantrum.

"Let me explain," Daphne said trying to think of a way to put it so Harry could understand.

"Very well," he managed to bite out between his teeth.

"On one side you have the pureblood faction and on the other side you have the muggleborns. Look at Granger. Neville told me what she wanted to do with the Hogwarts house-elves."

"So? Freeing enslaved creatures isn't wrong!" Harry face was getting redder by the second.

"Did you actually research their culture? How they came to be in service of wizards? What happens to them once you free them?"

Harry blushed. He hadn't done anything; just taken Hermione's word at face value – something he was learning to be a monumental mistake as of late.

"They were once weak creatures who lived a very short lifespan. A sort of treaty was created with them after one of the goblin wars and from there on out the house-elves maintained a sort of symbiotic relationship with wizards, allowing them to live as long or even longer than a wizard and making their magic stronger."

"Ok, I'll admit it, I didn't know anything like that actually happened."

"That's not all," Daphne revealed, "Once a family gives clothes to an elf they slowly lose their magic and die when their magic completely disappears. From what I've heard it's an incredible painful process that often drives the elf to insanity."

"That's awful! Why don't they teach us this in History of Magic?" Harry was shaking his head. It didn't help that he usually slept during the boring class.

"Because all pureblood and half-blood wizards know this. The school curriculum needs to be updated. If there was a class just like muggle studies which is utter rubbish by the way, for muggleborns on wizarding customs maybe they'd learn to adapt to our culture instead of trying to change it."

"Is that what this underground society wants to do?"

"Well not exactly, do you see Hermione changing her mind about house-elves?"

Harry tried to think of a situation where such a thing would happen but unsurprisingly came up with nothing; Hermione viewed it as some form of slavery and would never admit to being wrong, just as she did with his broom in third year. "No… no, I guess not."

"She has her ideals so completely ingrained that it will be almost impossible to change her mind. You on the other hand, even though you come to the magical world with a muggle background, tend to base your opinions once all the information is given to you."

"And what about the others, I mean Hermione isn't the only muggleborn in school."

"She isn't, she's just the most vocal one of the bunch. The others will probably never fully understand magic and will go back to the muggle world once they graduate or tend to lean more to the way Granger thinks. That was the problem back in the seventies."

Harry thought about it and realized that he didn't actually know many muggleborns. Almost all the Gryffindors were half-bloods or purebloods, and then there were the Creevey brothers... which he had to admit were just plain strange without even thinking about blood status. "Alright I'll bite. Keep talking."

Daphne cleared her throat. "Alright then. The society consisted mainly of dark and gray families, actually that's why they called it the Blackthorns of Gray. A mouthful of a name isn't it?" she snickered. Millicent shook her head. It wasn't the first time that Daphne had mocked the secret society's name. "Don't look at me that way Millie, you know that deep, deep down you think it too—"

"Will you get on with it?" Neville half shouted. "It astounds me how someone who prides herself with being smart gets distracted so easily!"

"Alright, just don't yell at me," the Slytherin sighed, attempting in vain to force back the embarrassed blush creeping from her neck up. "Anyway, the society was all talk about changing things for the better but never did anything. They were idealists. Many went on to become important figures of society with high-ranking jobs at the ministry or founded their own business. But when the Dark Lord rose to power during the seventies they decided to take a more active role, and by that I mean basically doing nothing and staying neutral or joining him while trying to stop him from taking over by using connections and money."

"That's it?" Harry was more than a little underwhelmed. That was all they did? Basically cower in fear and tried to block Voldemort's path through politics?

"Yeah it was the same thing I thought," Neville admitted as he shook his head, "But I guess people were scared and some actually agreed with his way of thinking."

Daphne cleared her throat to get their attention again. "As Neville says, they basically did nothing. Many former members disappeared or were killed during that time. Here Harry," she took one of the books from the stack and opened it.

Harry leaned close to her and saw that she was pointing to a list of names, "What are the names for?"

"This is a book that contains the rules and a list of its members since the society was founded, along with the topics that were discussed."

Harry peered closer. It couldn't be. There written in red ink was his godfather's name, Sirius Black and under his godfather was his father's name, James Potter. On the row beside his father's was Lucius Malfoy's name along with Frank Longbottom and what he assumed was Daphne's father, Julien Greengrass and the list went on.

He shook his head, "My father would never be part of a group that was against muggleborns; he married my mother!"

"We never said it was against muggleborns, just that they weren't allowed. Admittedly some were prejudiced against them, but there were several half-bloods and they weren't treated any different." Millicent tried calming Harry while Daphne patted his back.

"From what my father tells me your father was extremely clever and a very good man, right along with his best friend Sirius Black," Harry cringed but then realized something and looked with confusion towards Daphne. They hadn't mentioned his godfather's name with fear or loathing… still, what were his father and godfather doing joining this thing?

"Well when the Dark Lord disappeared after he went to face the Potters," Harry cringed again and Daphne mouthed a 'sorry'. "The Blackthorns of Gray went back to their usual routine. And they still gather once a month to discuss useless tripe about school and politics. We, and I mean several members, wanted to move things to a more proactive state. Mould the wizarding world and bring it up to date, so to speak."

"And what is it that you want to do?"

"Well, our priority was to change or adjust some laws to fit around the muggles. Did you know that it's heavily frowned upon to own muggle businesses?"

"What type of business?" Harry's curiosity was piqued again.

"My father bought an American sporting goods manufacturing company."

"Quite a mouthful there cousin," Neville snickered.

"Oh shut up Neville!"

"That's how you knew about that American sport right?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Remember the day you approached me by the lake and when we were talking about how I didn't like Slytherins you kept saying stri—"

"Strike three and you're out!" Daphne finished cheerfully. She thought that at the time he was only half listening to her. It was good to know he actually paid attention. "Yeah I remember," her gaze softened when she met his green eyes, "but we're getting really sidetracked here. There can be a lot of laws altered that will let a wizard benefit from making business with muggles, without revealing their magic of course, as well as benefiting the muggles."

Harry nodded silently. When they put it that way it wasn't really all that bad. He did wonder what was their problem with not allowing muggleborns in was however.

"But we want to do it from the shadows sort to speak. No one wants to take the role of leader."

Harry turned red again, and there was no doubt that this time it was in anger. "That's what this was all about?! You wanted me to be a leader for your little club?!"

"Will you calm down mate?" Neville was starting to panic, they had expected a negative reaction from Harry but they didn't think it would be about this part.

"Calm down? Just because people think I'm some kind of hero doesn't mean you can use me as a poster image for your movements!"

"No one said you had to," Millicent raised her voice to match Harry's which seemed to make him deflate a fraction. "No one wants you to be the image for this society... it's supposed to be secret after all. We want you because you're a Potter not because you're the Boy-Who-Lived."

Daphne looked at him and spoke softly. "Harry, we don't need you to fight our battles for us. We wanted you to join, offer ideas on what could be changed what should stay the same… be a fresh set of eyes. But we want to actually do things, kind of forming a society inside the secret society, " then Daphne started shuffling nervously in her seat. She rummaged through her bag and pulled a crumpled piece of parchment.

"Here read this," she handed the letter her father had written to her at the beginning of the week. "Because I fear will have to do more than just try to change magical Britain from behind the scenes."

Harry read quickly through the letter, his face forming a frown as he read further down.

_**Dear Daphne**_

_**I hope you're being careful. There are dark times ahead and I found it necessary to warn you. **_

_**Lucius came to see me last week and he was a wreck. His dark mark has started hurting and it seems to become more visible with time when just a few months back it was barely noticeable. This can only mean one thing…**_

The letter went on for several paragraphs telling Daphne to be careful and not to trust anyone outside her friends. '_So the prophecy Professor Trelawney spewed about Pettigrew was true_,' Harry thought to himself. '_And the dreams and visions I've had were all signs of the same thing… Voldemort was close to coming back.' _Harry shuddered. He was Voldemort's biggest target.

"Harry? Are you alright mate?" Neville's shaky voice penetrated through the thick fog of his thoughts.

"He's coming for me," Harry whispered. Neville and Millie gave him a puzzled look while Daphne paled.

"Who?" Millie asked despite not really wanting to hear him answer. If Harry Potter was looking scared then it was something worth being scared of.

"Voldemort." both Millicent and Neville cringed at the name. Daphne's face just paled further.

"We need to train you mate," Neville said after finally finding his voice. Daphne and Millicent shot him annoyed looks.

"What do you think we have been doing all week?" Millicent pointed out.

"I mean seriously train, _all_ kinds of spells… and tell the other members, the ones that agreed to move things along." Neville shrunk back in his chair, the withering look Millie was shooting at him was making him nervous.

"What do you have in mind?" Harry asked Neville ignoring Millicent.

"Well we could start… I don't know, learning more damaging spells? I don't think an impediment jinx will help any against Death Eaters."

Harry focused on the letter again. So Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater. What was he doing warning Daphne's father? He voiced his concern to Daphne while Neville was rambling ideas to Millicent who just kept nodding her head.

"It's a really long story, let's just say he made a mistake joining that nutcase," she replied offhandedly.

"You expect me to believe Lucius Malfoy has a heart?" Harry was sceptical. What he had seen of the aristocratic pureblood didn't sound like a man who had made a mistake. He was a bigot just like his son.

"Of course not," Daphne replied with a huff. "He still doesn't like muggleborns but killing and raping was really not his cup of tea. Besides father told me he found out that the Dark Lord planed to take over wizarding Britain after he took care of the muggleborns. He didn't care for blood status. It was just an excuse to get the purebloods and their pockets on his side."

"How do you know all this? How do you know he wasn't lying to cover his arse when Voldemort disappeared?" he hissed at Daphne, who looked shocked at the venom in his voice before forcing herself not to stutter her answer; the raw magic rippling off Harry was almost asphyxiating.

"My father was trying to help him find a way to remove the dark mark. It links you to the Dark Lord for the rest of your life. Lucius tried to back away once he found out the truth and he learned Narcissa was pregnant."

Harry raised a curious eyebrow, the slight glow behind his emerald orbs diminishing a fraction. If that was true then how many were guilty in reality? How many followed thinking what the evil bastard preached was true? Not that he was condoning what they stood for, but there were always two sides in a war. And the winner always wrote history.

"He though he was safe after the Dark Lord fell but with his mark becoming visible again…" Daphne trailed off, her eyes locked worriedly on Harry awaiting his final reaction to all of this. Now that all the cards were laid bare on the table the only thing she and her fellow friends could do was await his decision.

Harry was silent for what seemed like an eternity to the other three people in the room. Neville was getting so nervous he'd picked his cuticles back to the skin making them bleed, while both Millie and Daphne were hiding their nervousness by biting the insides of their cheeks.

Finally Harry looked up from his hands and the furrow that had been marring his brow slowly relaxed until it disappeared. He'd made a decision. "We need to do something to prepare ourselves," Harry said firmly. "No more fighting fire with teddy-bears." His eyes met Daphne's and she nodded in silent agreement. She had promised to help him and she would.

Even against the Dark Lord.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: All characters, places, and anything familiar from the Harry Potter books and movies belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros.**

**A/N: Thanks to my wonderful beta KennethRose who also helped me write part of the chapter when I got stuck! Also thanks to all the people who read, reviewed, followed and favorited the story. Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Chapter 6**_

Harry was walking silently beside Neville. They were headed back to their common room through one the shortcuts that was displayed on the map. The discussion about the secret group his three friends belonged to had gone on for quite some time, and so after nearly three hours Harry had finally agreed to be 'inducted' after the first task, which consisted of taking an unbreakable vow not to discuss what he learned during the meetings with anyone that was not part of the society.

Millie had to explain what a vow was, adding that it couldn't be broken unless you wanted to be in excruciating pain – something he was in no way crash hot about experiencing. He'd had more than his fair share of excruciating pain in his life, and he'd rather not bring it on himself any more than he had to.

He was hoping to get a response from Sirius before the first task because frankly Harry had a lot of questions and he thought his schoolmates weren't the right people to ask. Maybe it was because they wanted him to join so badly that he didn't fully trust their information, or rather expected that they'd done their fair share of white lying to make the prospect of joining seem more attractive to him.

He'd certainly expect such omissions considering the way Daphne had deceived him in the exact same manner, and so he had decided that he needed to know the opinion of someone who had already been a member of the Blackthorns of Gray at a time when things were difficult.

Though he had to admit that his friends certainly deserved some credit. They wanted to change things for the better and were dead set in preparing for the worst, a stance on the upcoming war that he certainly agreed with. He wasn't fond of the idea of people risking their lives for him but Daphne had shot that idea down on the spot. She had stated quite firmly that once Voldemort was through with him, he'd come for the rest of them; be it muggleborn, half-blood or pureblood.

They went through the portrait hole and were met with a common room full of people. Some of the students stopped what they were doing and peered curiously at the two newcomers. Neville shifted uncomfortably beside Harry. The tall Gryffindor wasn't really used to this kind of attention, and Harry motioned towards the stairs that led to the dormitories in an attempt to help the poor soul. Neville nodded and practically ran up the stairs with Harry following at a more sedate pace wondering just how in Merlin's name Neville could be so confident and outspoken with Daphne and Millie, but be so incredibly withdrawn outside of that small circle.

When Harry finally stepped inside their dorm he found a colourful bird waiting for him with a letter tied to one of its claws. Harry looked around the room and noticed that it was thankfully empty apart from Neville and himself. He briefly wondered were Ron was; he hadn't seen him downstairs, which was rather odd.

He untied the letter from the bird and shook the thoughts concerning his wayward, very ex-friend out of his head, instead turning his internal debating onto whether or not to read the letter right then and there or wait until later when everyone was asleep. He saw Neville giving him a curious look, obviously interested in just why Harry seemed so deep in thought before even opening a letter, but was waiting for him to speak. Harry decided to tell Neville the truth about his godfather after several moments' contemplation. Harry wanted people to be honest with him; it was only fair of him to do the same in his opinion.

"Neville, what do you know about Sirius Black?"

Neville gave him a confused look tilting his head slightly but answered anyway. "He was convicted for murdering Peter Pettigrew and for giving up the location of your parents' house to Vol-Voldemort."

Harry nodded. It was the story everyone in the wizarding world knew, or at least thought they knew. It was going to be a nightmare finding a way to prove that Sirius was innocent without handling in Peter Pettigrew as evidence. After a moment Harry gave Neville a belated nod of approval at using Voldemort's name.

"Well I've been going off about how I want people to be honest with me and I don't want to be a hypocrite. I do have a few secrets and Hermione and Ron know them... though I've been wondering whether that's an upside as of late. It's only fair to tell you this if you're going to risk your life for me."

"You don't have to tell me Harry…" Neville blushed a little and decided to sit on the edge of his bed facing Harry.

Harry shook his head and sent his new, but good friend a smile. "But I want to. I just need for you to promise not to tell anyone, not even Daphne and Millie," Harry gave Neville a serious look. Neville said that he told Daphne about him partly because she was family. He noticed how Neville paled and gulped but nodded in agreement.

"It's just for a while anyway. I'll tell them myself when I'm ready."

"Alright Harry, I promise."

"Where do I begin?" Harry scratched the back of his neck, "Right then, I found out Sirius Black was my godfather during the winter holidays. I overheard several professors talking about it at the Three Broomsticks. They thought he had escaped Azkaban to come after me, to finish the job."

Neville was sitting rigidly on the edge of the bed. His eyes were wide in shock. If it weren't for the grim topic of conversation Harry would've been stuffing his fist in his mouth in an attempt to quell his laughter – the slack-jawed Gryffindor looked as if he'd been slapped full across the face.

"It turned out he wasn't after me. You know how the map shows you where everyone is?" After Neville nodded he continued, "Well I noticed a strange name one night. One that everyone thought was dead…" Harry paused for effect, making Neville lean towards him almost making him fall from his bed.

"Peter Pettigrew."

Harry heard Neville's sharp intake of breath. "But how could that be? They only found his finger, nothing else…"

Harry nodded. "Wasn't it strange that it was all that was left? After all, the map doesn't lie."

Neville eyes got even wider, if that was even possible. It was a lot to take in. If Peter Pettigrew was alive why didn't everyone know about it?

As if answering his mental question Harry continued on with his tale of betrayal, deception, and intrigue. "Pettigrew was an animagus, a rat animagus to be specific, that was missing a finger. He'd been under our noses the whole time, living as Ron's pet."

"Are you telling me that that thing Ron kept as a pet was actually a grown man?"

"Creepy isn't it? My godfather was after the rat; he saw Pettigrew in a moving picture from the Prophet and broke out of Azkaban. He was the one who betrayed my parents, not Sirius. My godfather confronted him and he admitted it in front of me. When we were escorting the rat back to the castle he managed to escape."

Neville didn't know what to say. After all these years a man had been imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit — in a horrendous prison at that; a prison that the rest of the world considered a slap in the face of human rights. "The worst thing is, Sirius didn't even get a trial," Harry said interrupting Neville's mental ramble dead in its tracks.

"How on earth did that happen?"

"I have no idea, Sirius just said that they declared him guilty on the spot and threw him in Azkaban."

"So that's who the letter's from?" Neville pointed out.

"Yeah, after Pettigrew escaped Sirius had to go into hiding. I have to find a way to clear his name. Did you know he offered for me to live with him right before Pettigrew ran away? For a moment there I thought I finally could have a real family…"

Harry's demeanour fell slightly. Family was a sore subject for him. Maybe this Blackthorns of Gray could find a way to prove his godfather's innocence. Neville watched in complete silence as Harry opened the letter and begun to read.

_**Dear Harry**_

_**There's so much I need to tell you but I don't think a letter would be appropriate. The news about the tournament is quite troubling indeed. How on earth do you manage to get into so much trouble? **_

_**I found out there's a Hogsmeade visit before the first task. I want you to meet me outside Honeydukes around noon. And don't worry I'll be safe. I promise to answer all the questions you have as best as I can. **_

_**Stay safe,**_

_**Snuffles**_

Harry felt awfully conflicted. He wanted to see his godfather badly, but was scared he would get caught — especially if somebody tailed him, which was a valid concern considering the amount of attention his entry into the Triwizard had garnered him. He needed answers though, so much that his wariness was overridden. He turned to look at Neville who had an expectant look. He could bring Neville along to meet Sirius; show him that he indeed trusted him.

Harry handed the letter to Neville and watched with hawk-like eyes as his friend read it.

"You're coming with me."

His voice startled Neville, and the boy-who-could-have-lived looked at Harry wide-eyed and slack-jawed before seemingly gathering himself with a deafeningly loud gulp. "A-are you sure? I don't want to intrude or anything."

Harry actually contemplated that for a moment; the Harry that would have jumped into a decision half-cocked was long, long gone. After running through the odds of getting caught, considering how much he trusted Neville, and thinking about the problems they could run into he finally made his decision — punctuating it with a sharp, assured nod. "Yeah, I am."

* * *

Harry had a little over two weeks before the first task. He and Daphne forgot to tell Neville and Millie about the dragons when they told Harry about the secret club. The day after that particular meeting Daphne mentioned dragons again, reminding him to spread the news among the rest of the group. Within seconds of finishing his explanation both Millicent and Neville were shouting and ranting about how they wanted to kill the champions by facing off with dragons. For a good few moments Harry wondered whether even Voldemort's methods of torture matched the imaginations of those two.

And so, in a mad dash to try and ensure Harry's survival, they started going through the books Harry and Daphne had collected from the library. All of them were dedicating their time searching for spells that would penetrate a dragon's thick, magically resistant skin – anything, in fact, that would help Harry stay alive.

Time flew, and before the group knew it the weekend had arrived, and with it so did the Hogsmeade visit. Neville had kept his word and hadn't told Daphne or Millie anything about Harry's godfather. He had mentioned that he wasn't comfortable keeping things from his cousin, but that he understood why Harry wanted to keep things quiet. Secretly Neville wondered just why Harry had been a little cold shouldered towards said cousin after the meeting revealing the Blackthorns of Gray – especially since Harry had seen fit to trust him in such a monumental capacity and he'd been just as guilty.

The four of them had agreed to meet at the Three Broomstick for a bottle of hot butterbeer. Neville had insisted on paying for them making Harry feel a little uncomfortable; not really being used to other people paying for his stuff.

A little before noon Harry and Neville separated from the group saying they wanted to go to Honeydukes, while the girls wanted to go to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop for some supplies.

Both boys headed for the sweets shop; going inside to buy some candy. Harry kept looking discreetly through the windows waiting for any sign of Sirius with Neville shuffling nervously behind him.

"Are you sure you want me to go with you? I can wait for you here, I really don't mind."

Harry gave Neville a look of annoyance. How many times did he have to tell Neville that he wanted him there?

"I'm sure…" he trailed off as he noticed a black dog trot by and sit at the entrance of the store. He should've known; Sirius wouldn't risk getting caught so easily. "Come on Neville, let's go."

They hurriedly left the shop. Neville was shocked when Harry just stood outside Honeydukes petting a huge black dog. He raised a curious eyebrow waiting for Harry to explain, but the raven-haired Potter simply shook his head and motioned for Neville to follow him when the dog started trotting towards the outskirts of the town.

Neville was left with no option but to follow. He wouldn't lie and say he wasn't a bit scared of meeting Harry's godfather but curiosity out won the small fear that was coursing through his body. They walked for a while following the black dog until they reached a small cave. Neville looked around not finding any signs of life. When he turned around to face Harry he yelped in surprise when he found him embracing a dirty looking man.

"It's alright Nev. This is my godfather."

"Where did he come from? Where did the dog go?" his confusion made the other two occupants of the cave laugh. On the contrary, Neville didn't find the situation the least bit funny.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you!" Harry turned bit red in embarrassment. "He's an animagus too."

Neville opened and closed his mouth several times. '_He forgot? How on earth do you forget to mention that someone is capable of transforming into a huge black dog?!'_

"Sirius, this is my friend Neville Longbottom."

Sirius gave Neville a penetrating look then smiled, his rotten-yellowed teeth making Neville cringe slightly but he still smiled hesitantly at the dirty man.

"I'm guessing you're Frank's son? He and I were good friends when we attended Hogwarts and then after when we both joined the auror corps."

Neville paled at the mention of his father but still nodded. He knew they were both part of the Blackthorns back when they were both students, along his mother and Harry's father.

They all sat down on the floor after Harry cast a cleaning charm on the rocky floor. Sirius raised an eyebrow at Harry who just shrugged.

"What? I don't want to get my robes dirty," he said playfully to his godfather.

Once they all settled Harry gave an expectant look to his godfather. Sirius cleared his throat and stared at Harry with a look that screamed 'serious'. "Now tell me how on Earth your name managed to come out of that blasted cup."

Harry stared at his godfather with an unreadable expression for several moments, unnerving the man, before tilting his head a fraction to the side and finally answering, though it was most certainly not the answer that Sirius had been expecting from his previously-shy and polite godson. "I have _no_ fucking idea."

That threw Sirius for a six. "Well then, it seems someone's out to get you."

"Maybe so, but Neville here and his cousin Daphne Greengrass along with Millicent Bulstrode are helping me prepare for the tournament."

Sirius shifted his gaze from Harry to a blushing Neville. He was assuming that Harry was talking about Julien's daughter. Both the Greengrasses and Bulstrodes were mostly neutral but it still surprised him they were willing to help his godson.

"What I really want you to explain—" Sirius raised a challenging eyebrow; he guessed where the conversation was going. At the time he didn't know why he didn't say anything to Harry about the Weasleys. Maybe it was because of the joy of finally being able to tell him he was his godfather and it had honestly slipped his mind. Telling him through a letter wouldn't be appropriate… and who was he to know if Harry already knew what was going on?

"—is why you didn't tell me about the Weasleys? Did my parents get along with them or is it true, like the books say, that no one wants to associate with blood-traitors?"

Sirius felt the need to shift his position slightly, both because he was getting a dead leg and also from sheer nervousness. How could he explain things to his godson without making James sound like a complete bigot? He cleared his throat again after several moment's pondering and peered into Harry's serious emerald orbs. "Well I did know James wasn't very fond of them, especially Arthur, who tried several times to approach your father trying to convince him to lift the feud. Hell, both Arthur and Molly had the gall to show up offering a marriage contract to unite the families if they ever had a girl! James wanted nothing to do with it but… well Lily tried to convince him to think about it."

Harry froze. He hadn't known it had gone so far. He thought that maybe his parents had at least been civil towards the Weasleys but had just never managed to get around to actually solving the blood feud. Oh how wrong he was… and her mother actually considered marrying him off to Ginny?! That was so wrong in so many levels. Why would she even consider it?

Neville couldn't help it. He burst out laughing. Sirius and Harry gave him strange looks making him laugh harder. If only Harry could just see the look on his own face he might have understood Neville's outburst. It was as if his godfather had announced he had to marry a troll. "Oh mate! You don't really like her one bit do you? She's going to be so disappointed once she finds out!"

Sirius caught on pretty quickly, his eyes showing a rare spark of mischief he hadn't felt in a long time. "So my godson here is already a heartbreaker?"

Harry opened and closed his mouth several times and blushed. Of all the times Neville had to find his courage it had to be in front of Sirius. Teasing him with Ginny Weasley wasn't funny at all. "Yes well… So what do you think I should do with this blood feud thing?" Sirius had to give it to the kid; changing subject so abruptly meant that the current topic was making him uncomfortable. Good, at least the title of the-boy-who-lived hadn't gone to his head like many wizards thought.

"What do you think you should do?" his godfather volleyed back. Sirius would gladly give Harry any and all the advice he wanted but it was up to him to make the decision based on what was best for him.

Harry shrugged. _Here we go again_, he thought. He was starting to notice a pattern here. No one wanted to outright tell him what to do. Daphne had told him how to break a blood feud but not what to do about the Weasleys, same for Neville and now his godfather. At least he told him how his father had handled the situation.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "They treated me like family and they even opened their home to me when they didn't have to…"

Sirius eyes opened wide in surprise and shock. He had spent time with them at their house? He sent a questioning look at Neville who shrugged. "You mean to tell me you actually spent part of your summers with them? And no one before this year told you about the meaning of blood-traitors?"

From the corner of his eyes he saw Harry's friend pale. He eyed Harry wearily; he had to somehow find a way to teach his godson all there was to know about wizarding customs. As it was he was practically a sitting duck.

Neville decided to speak, addressing Sirius with a sorrowful look. "Only Draco Malfoy referred to them as blood-traitors back in first year. When Harry all but rejected Malfoys offer of friendship in favour of Ron everybody pretty much assumed that he knew all about it."

"How would he know if he came from living with muggles?" Sirius voice came out with a hint of anger. Now he understood why Harry's letter was so bitter in tone. No one wanted him to know anything. He did wonder why that was. Why hadn't Remus told him anything? If he hadn't been sent to Azkaban he would've raised him with all the knowledge he needed to get through Hogwarts and more.

Neville blushed again while Harry stayed quiet watching them interact. The conversation was making him very curious indeed.

"Most people thought he knew all about magic. It was glaringly obvious that it wasn't the case pretty much from the start but by that time he was inseparable from Ron and later on Hermione." he shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. "After that it was very rare to see Harry without them, I just thought that maybe Hermione being as clever as everyone says she is would've told him. I just never found the right time to ask."

"Oh Harry…" Sirius sent his godson a look of understanding. "It isn't good for you to isolate yourself from everyone else. You don't have to be friends with everyone but making acquaintances is important, especially in the wizarding world."

Harry shrunk back in shame. Before this whole tournament fiasco he hadn't felt the need to make new friends. He was openly polite to the members of his own house and some students from other houses. He did admit, if only to himself, that he went out of his way to antagonize the Slytherins but then again, now that he knew what he did, he made the wrong calls because of the information, or rather lack of, that Ron and Hermione had given him at the time.

Harry looked at his godfather with a steely look; his green eyes glinted with a strange spark of determination that wasn't there before. "I'm working on it, I won't be made a fool of again."

To Sirius' surprise the conversation that followed did nothing to ease the feeling of foreboding. The scraggly-haired man was shocked to the core that the Blackthorns of Gray were still around, and even more shocked when Neville helped explain Daphne's idea of making a more proactive society within the secret group.

Harry, of course, was intensely interested in Sirius' membership within the secretive society and the man himself tried his hardest to explain just what the group had been like 'back in the day'. "We all started off as just a group of optimistic teenagers that wanted to make the wizarding world ours," he confessed sheepishly, earning shocked looks from the two teens. "We all came from money, our families had contacts, we had political clout, and the majority of us at the beginning were heirs to our families to boot.

"We used to meet and talk about how we were going to change the world and make it a better place… a place that we _wanted_. We went on like that for years, optimistic… foolhardy and snobby. We thought we were the best of the best, and I'll admit right now that I'm not overly proud of that time in my life." He looked to Harry and the man's expression turned pained.

"As much as I want to tell you that your father was the more mature one in the group Harry… I can't. James was like any other pureblood heir; always talking about power and how to change the wizarding world to our liking. We were all so naïve and actually thought we could change things… then your mother came and took him away, all his beliefs went out the window." Harry's shocked expression dropped when he heard Sirius mention his mother, there was a hint of loathing in his voice that he couldn't actually place. He thought that Sirius had gotten along well enough with his mother. He stored that bit of information away for later. That was probably a conversation they needed to have completely in private.

"And then what?"

Sirius sighed and his expression became far less jovial. "The war happened. Many of the members of the Blackthorns of Gray proved themselves to be cowards when it came down to choosing sides. They either pissed themselves in fear, declared themselves neutral or joined the 'winning' side… and I doubt I have to spell out just who that 'winning side' was. By the time the lines were drawn up the Blackthorns of Gray consisted of only Julien Greengrass, Lucius Malfoy, my cousins Narcissa Black and Sophie Rosier, Demetrius Bulstrode, Xenophilius Lovegood, Alice Brown and Frank Longbottom, your parents Neville, Fabian and Gideon Prewett, Marcus Brown, Romulus Parkinson, your father and me.

"Lucius, much to all of our shock, joined the Dark Lord's group… after he told us he was staying neutral." Sirius saw Harry's look of utter disbelief and snorted knowingly. "Yes he's a snotty, aristocratic little prick… but as much as I disliked him then… I held a grudging respect for him. He, unlike _every_ single other Blackthorn that fled, returned to us. He was horrified at what the Dark Lord had planned to do after taking over, and that wasn't even taking into account the horrors he saw.

"Lucius will forever be a bloodie." Seeing Harry's confusion and Neville all but scoffing at the understatement he explained while shooting the young Longbottom a small roll of his eyes. "A pureblood supremacist," he told Harry. "He will never like muggleborns, but murder, rape… genocide? Lucius was always a pain in the ass but he would never stoop so low. The same could not be said of the Lestranges, Carrows, and the Nott families… all of whom were struck from the Blackthorns of Gray; their oaths activated and by extension their minds wiped of any and all knowledge of our order.

"But Lucius, despite my hatred of him… I, hell, all of the remaining members held some form of respect for him. The amount of lives that were saved because of his information… they're uncountable." He fixed both Harry and Neville with serious eyes. "Back then the Blackthorns were… they were very different to what either of you know now. You say that you want to create a more proactive unit and I congratulate you and encourage you to do so… but what you need to understand is that it _was _alsovery proactive back then.

"I don't mean to sound… cocky, but we kicked some serious arse. And Harry, I know it'll be hard for you to imagine this, but we weren't playing with kiddie gloves. Your father and I killed a lot of Death Eaters and sympathizers."

Harry stared at Sirius in disbelief. "But-but how come I've never heard of my father doing that? How come nobody says that he fought?!"

"And what do you know of your father pup?"

Harry opened his mouth but found nothing coming out. Sirius nodded and sent Harry a sympathetic expression. "I'd suspected as much."

"I know he was a chaser for Gryffindor!" Harry protested almost petulantly, and Sirius expression only became more defined.

"I hate to say it kid but that was the least of what James Potter was. James was an auror; he was a master duellist; and he was the best friend anybody could ask for… before Lily sunk her teeth into him," he finished with a wry smile, trying to take the sting out of his comment and failing miserably. It made Harry even more curious; everyone said their parents were the perfect couple but what his godfather said suggested something contrary to that belief. "Your father, Harry, was a Blackthorn of Gray. He was an honourable man that fought for what he believed in."

"He used the killing curse, the cruciatus, the imperius, just like all of us did. In battle he used dark spells as often, if not more so, than light spells. He had to, just like the rest of us did." He leaned forward, his tattered robes falling away from his emaciated torso and baring his bony ribcage to both Harry and Neville's eyes. "We were at war Harry. You _have_ to understand that. Dumbledore was preaching to anyone who would listen his 'give them second chances' and 'don't stoop to their level' bullshit, and it just wasn't working.

"He founded his very own group, the Order of the Phoenix, and James and I along with several members of the Blackthorns joined in order to keep an eye on the other side of the war as well as to avoid suspicion. I have to give Dumbledore credit though, he somehow managed to find out when and where Death Eater raids were happening; some raids that not even Lucius knew about. Do you know how many Death Eaters we captured in the Order of the Phoenix?"

Both teens nervously shook their heads and Sirius sent them both dry looks. "_A hundred and fifty four_."

Now both of the Gryffindors were staring at the emaciated man in utter stupefaction. The number was simply staggering. "How come you were losing the war then?" Neville asked in shock, and Sirius' expression darkened to the point where it twisted into a bitter snarl.

"And therein lies the rub…" He paused to take a needed breath; gathering his thoughts and reigning in his tempter as much as he could. "Because we _captured _them, that's why. Dumbledore advocated that the Death Eaters, men and women who condoned and revelled in committing torture, murder, and creating a pit of misery for the innocents of magical Britain… he believed wholeheartedly that they could be redeemed, and so he sent them to Azkaban, and within mere weeks of their capture the Dark Lord managed to free them by leading assaults on the prison."

Harry stared at his godfather in shock. "How come we've never heard about this?! How come we don't learn this in history?!"

"To the victor go the spoils of war," Sirius replied gravely, "and that includes what's written in the history books Harry. Do you think Dumbledore would be so respected if people knew that he was the cause of hundreds, possibly thousands of deaths, albeit indirectly?" Harry and Neville's faces sunk into thought but Sirius continued on even before they had time to mull over his words.

"So we, the Blackthorns I mean, did what needed to be done. Those that we killed couldn't and wouldn't ever come back to ruin lives again. Those that we tortured, something that Dumbledore refused to do even to the point where he denied the use of Veritaserum stating 'it was against the law', gave us information that led to the deaths of nearly _fifty _of the more talented Death Eaters.

"By the end of the war not one of us was left without blood on our hands," Sirius told the completely enraptured pair. "We had to live with the fact that our magic had been used to murder and torture just as the Death Eaters' had. But we also carried with us the knowledge that we'd saved lives. Countless lives." Sirius leaned forward and fixed both of the students before him with a look that would not allow them to look away.

They wouldn't even if they could have. He had captured their attention entirely.

"I imagine the Blackthorns of Gray have reverted to what they once were; a group of jabbering, bigoted, aristocrats — just as they were before the first war. If you want to be proactive I have no doubt that some of those members will rise to the call, but an equal if not larger amount will turn their backs on you and may even try to curb your plans… in not overly pleasant ways."

Making sure that both of his listeners were paying as much attention as possible Sirius nodded approvingly and continued. "If you're going to do this be _very_, _very_ careful. It's one thing to try and change our laws to better our society, and another entirely to create a group to fight against the Dark Lord if he returns. One wrong word to the wrong person could spell ruin for your lives. Conspiring to fight against the darkness; to murder those that would do so to innocents… if it becomes known what you intend to do you will be slandered and ruined until you hold less power than you need to breathe… if you get what I'm saying."

Judging by the pale faces both Harry and Neville were getting the message went loud and clear. "B-but we aren't planning on—"

"Killing?" Sirius finished for Neville, and at the young man's nod the emaciated Azkaban escapee snorted derisively.

"Don't fool yourself Longbottom, you either Harry. When you fight in the coming war there are three paths open for you, cowardice, foolishness or being a Blackthorn of Gray. If you want cowardice then join the majority of wizarding Britain and be a sheep. If you want foolishness then join Dumbledore but if you want to _win_ and have the best chances of doing so… you're going to need to kill. You're going to have to do things you'll never be proud of. Ever."

Seeing the look on his godson's face he sighed and rubbed his face as he gathered himself. "I know it's not what you wanted to hear, but nothing comes without a price. To stop the killing of innocent people you'll have to react in kind. Being a part of the select few that will _actually_ do something isn't for everybody. Not everyone has the drive, determination or temperament to do what needs to be done and there's no shame in that." He peered at the two teens to see if his words were sinking in, and was inwardly relieved when he saw them both looking thoughtful, if a little apprehensive.

Sensing that he'd gone deep enough for the day he clapped his hands and forced himself into a more up-beat mood. "So! Any ideas what the first task will be?"

Harry's answer of 'mothering dragons' elicited a slew of utterly exhaustive profanities from Sirius that increased the insulting and vulgar vocabulary of both teens almost hundredfold. Fortunately for Harry, Sirius wasn't about to let restrictions or 'mature reasoning' hinder his advice.

Within mere moments he'd made a mental list of books in the Black library that he would have to fetch for Harry, in the obscure section of all places, which was _really_ saying something considering just how dark and powerful the Blacks considered 'obscure'. "I'll send them to you with a secure bird," he informed Harry promptly after finishing his explanation, and Harry looked at the man as if he was mad…which all three had to admit that he probably was to a degree.

"_Send_ them to me? What if a teacher sees?" he practically shouted.

"They won't," Sirius assured Harry with a mischievous glint to his eye, "your father and I had a little bit of blood magic to help with that little problem…" The three Blackthorns, well two Blackthorns and one Blackthorn-to-be, sat and talked for the next hour discussing the basic things that Harry would need to work on before the task.

Neville, thanks to Sirius, was ordered to tell the others to teach Harry about dealing with the press and getting him up to speed with being the heir to a Most Ancient and Noble House as soon as possible before the first task, and Sirius ordered Harry to pull his finger out of his arse and train himself into the ground both physically and mentally.

The grey-eyed man all but smirked to himself when he saw the utter determination in Harry's eyes when he told the young Potter about how his father had trained. It was a look that he'd only ever seen in James' eyes during the First War; a look of complete dedication and focus. He had no doubt that by the time the first task rolled around that Harry would be a completely different man.

As dusk fell their time came to an end. Both of the teens seemed shocked at just how fast time had flown. Neville wondered just where in the hell all of his nervousness in meeting Sirius had gone, but as he watched the messy-haired man hug Harry with an expression that spoke volumes for how much he cared about the young Potter Neville no longer wondered. Any friend of Harry's, at least now, was a trustworthy person.

Just as the pair begun walking down the trail that lead back to Hogsmeade Sirius called out to them. When they saw the imploring look on his face both teens focused their complete attention on the man. "I know it's hard to take in, and I don't expect either of you to take my word for it, but for both your sakes _don't_ trust Dumbledore."

Harry narrowed his eyes at Sirius and frowned. He'd certainly been cautious of the Headmaster himself the last few weeks, especially since having time to analyze his behaviour and the rather 'coincidental' happenings that seemed to occur around him during his years at Hogwarts, but that was an entirely different kettle of fish to flat out distrusting the man. "Why?"

"Dumbledore means well," Sirius explained, "but the way he goes about it… I'm sure you've noticed, he'll keep you completely in the dark, and then suddenly when everything's over and done with he'll say or do something that suggests he knew _all_ along what was going to happen." Harry frowned, but before he could think too much on it Sirius held up his hand. "As I said, don't take my word for it. Think about it and draw your own conclusions… but just be careful around him. He's not above being underhanded or downright invading of your life to get what he wants."

Harry eyed Sirius sceptically and Neville wasn't much better, but both nodded their heads in unison and spared him one last glance before turning back and waking once more towards Hogsmeade.

Both were lost in their thoughts. Sirius had given them a lot to think about. Harry wondered how much of the things that were discussed he wanted to share with Daphne and Millie. Maybe he'd tell them everything after the first task, before they 'inducted' him to the Blackthorns. He trusted Sirius completely to tell him how things were without sugar coating anything.

It was a quiet walk back to the castle. It went unspoken between the pair that Harry expected Neville to keep his mouth shut about the meeting, even when he was dying to tell his cousin all about it. He'd just have to wait until Harry felt comfortable enough to let their other friends know.

Neville just hoped that Harry would feel that way soon.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: All characters, places, and anything familiar from the Harry Potter books and movies belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros.**

**A/N: Thanks to my wonderful beta KennethRose who also helped me write part of the chapter (fight scene was totally his idea). Also thanks to all the people who read, reviewed, followed and favorited the story. Hope everyone enjoys the long chapter!**

* * *

_**Chapter 7**_

There wasn't a sound to be heard in the arena. The crowd was completely silent as Harry Potter made his way back to the champions' tent carrying a golden egg after his confrontation with one of the most dangerous dragons known to wizardkind.

The moment Madam Pomfrey laid eyes on him she tried to push him down in one of the beds available for the injured champions while muttering under her breath, "Making children face against dragons! Preposterous!" Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes in annoyance… even if he secretly delighted in taking the weight off his body and lying down on the soft linen.

He knew the matron meant well but mothering him when he didn't have single scratch on his body was taking things too far in Harry's exasperated opinion. He noticed Cedric Diggory lying down in one of the stretchers turned beds; half his face covered with a bright orange paste as well as his left arm and part of his torso. Some of his hair was black and charred from failing to dodge the dragon's fire.

Harry felt a small pang of guilt watching the obviously pain-ridden Hufflepuff but pushed it away without a second thought: this was a competition and the rest of the champions had voluntarily entered the tournament. He wasn't going to pass around information so the other champions could prepare as well — he was already at enough disadvantage compared to the rest of them. He was a bloody fourth year for Merlin's sake!

Madam Pomfrey was shocked after she finished checking him. She honestly couldn't remember the last time a Potter was in her care _without_ an injury. So surprised was the matron that she spoke out loud without noticing, "Mr. Potter, how on earth did you manage to come out of the task unharmed?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders, deciding not to answer her obviously rhetorical question, slugged back the offered pepper-up potion, and then focussed instead on his memories of everything that happened the week before the tournament's first task — more specifically how he and his friends had finally managed to come up with a way to get past the dragon.

* * *

"Harry, are you even listening to me?" Daphne huffed, her irritated tone quite evident. He had been acting strange since the Hogsmeade weekend and she had no idea what had gotten into him lately. He had avoided being alone with her; a far cry from what she was used to considering that mere weeks ago he was the one looking for her and asking to speak in private.

Harry's eyes finally focused on her and he raised an eyebrow, though his body language was screaming that he wasn't really interested. She sighed. What had gotten into him? "Did you hear what I said? If you want to come out of the first task alive you'll have to do more than stare into space…"

She watched as Harry's green eyes hardened, making her finish the tirade barely above a whisper. This was something new too; his cold attitude, something that Daphne was more accustomed to giving rather than receiving. They had a little over a week left before the first task and they still hadn't found anything to help him face the dragon. They were all lacking sleep, having stayed in the classroom far past curfew consistently, and today they had gone through several books while Harry sat with a stoic expression on his face. Suffice to say that that made Daphne try to get a rise out of him… his reaction, however, took her aback.

He didn't say a word to her; instead he turned to talk to Neville. "Say Nev, dragons are a type of reptiles, right?"

Neville shrugged a clueless expression on his face; it was Millie who provided the answer. "Yes they are. Why do you want to know?"

"Remember the incident in the duelling club back in second year?" Neville and Millicent gave him puzzled looks while Daphne scoured her mind for any hint as to what the rather excited and mischievous-looking green-eyed Gryffindor was talking about. She remembered that Professor Snape had made Harry duel with Malfoy… it suddenly hit her when she chanced a look at Harry; the memory of cold, spine-tingling hisses coming out of his mouth slamming to the forefront of her mind.

If he could talk to snakes, maybe he could talk to dragons too!

Their eyes connected; blue clashing against green. His gaze was still a bit hostile but it was starting to melt slightly, and with it the ball of dread Daphne had been feeling in the pit of her stomach ever since Harry had been distancing himself from her. She silently vowed to find out why she was getting such treatment from him in the first place.

"You want to talk the dragon into handling you the egg?" she exclaimed excitedly, and at her explanation both Neville and Millicent's confused looks evaporated; morphing into ones of understanding which soon gave way to grins as they finally realized Harry's plan. If he could manage such a feat it would save them a lot of time and worry, and if the dragons cooperated... well it could very well be the upset of the tournament.

Harry shook his head after a moment, a frown marring his brow. "What if it doesn't work? I'd be burned to cinders… we have to find where they are keeping the dragons before the first task. I'm not risking my life on such a small chance."

"But Harry, how do you know which one you're going up against?" The three students turned their eyes to Neville, making him blush in embarrassment. Even though he was starting to gain confidence among them there were times he was a bit overwhelmed when the attention was focused solely on him. "What?" he said, shrinking in his chair. "I imagine there are four dragons, one for each champion. The question is, which one will be yours?"

Harry offered his friend a small smile. He was right of course. "I was thinking about talking to all four dragons. If I can actually communicate with them that is."

Millie beamed at Harry. "That's a brilliant idea; if it works maybe we won't have to keep looking for spells anymore!"

Her good mood was contagious, and soon the four students were talking about how the rest of the school and foreign delegates would react to Harry's stunt. Before they left the classroom for the night Daphne convinced Harry, after a whole lot of subtle bribery and emotional blackmail, to come along with her to the kitchens the next morning after breakfast. She was positive that Cotton knew where the dragons were being kept, and if he didn't know then some other house-elf was bound to know.

* * *

Harry got up early the next morning, and for the first time in days he felt well rested. After his conversation with Sirius in Hogsmeade he was left with more questions than answers. Sure Sirius had cleared some things up, like what the Blackthorns were like during the war and the relationship his parents had with the Weasleys, but he'd also opened a whole kettle of fish in regards his parents' relationship… and that kettle made Harry very uneasy. Every person that had met his parents before they were murdered had said that they were the perfect couple; very much in love and simply unfaultable… that is until his conversation with Sirius. His godfather hadn't come out and said it directly, but _something_ had happened to make Sirius speak of Harry's mother that way. The sheer mystery of the whole debacle had rendered the teen completely unable to rest at night.

It also appeared that Daphne and Millie's parents hadn't told them exactly how active the underground society had been back in the day considering Neville's shocked reaction. He wanted to believe that was the reason for the conflicting versions he'd heard from them and his godfather… he hoped more than anything that they were telling him the whole truth this time, because if he ever found out they had been lying to him again, even if it was by omission, he was through. It was a bit harsh but he couldn't surround himself with people he couldn't trust completely, he didn't want to go through the pain of another betrayal.

He had to admit it had hurt when he found out they had kept things from him, and despite thinking that it would distract him from the tournament, to the point of getting himself injured or possibly killed, he'd thought that they would've learned from Ron and Hermione's mistakes. By that point Harry had been sick and tired of not being told the whole story; just little half-truths and deceptive answers that, thanks to the trust he'd given the people that fed him such tripe, he had accepted as truth and let the matter lie. But Daphne had hurt him the most. He still wasn't sure why; for all intents and purposes Neville's silence should have him all kinds of upset because he was his roommate, and had been since first year… and yet he couldn't muster the anger to stay mad at the quiet Gryffindor. On the contrary, Harry had actually gone out of his way to include Neville in on his secrets.

Shaking his head to clear those thoughts he promised himself that he'd figure out why he felt that way later. Right now he had to get ready for a long day. It was finally Friday and the first task was scheduled for the following Thursday, and that wasn't something to be taken lightly. Harry knew full well that those six days would fly by, and before he knew it he'd be standing in front of a terrifying dragon. He stretched in his bed and pulled the curtains open, bringing into view the other four boys still sleeping soundly. He gathered his clothes quietly and headed for the showers. He had started getting up a bit earlier to avoid running into Ron and Hermione in the common room.

He still wasn't sure what to do with his friends, if anything at all. He wondered what would happen if they ever came back begging for forgiveness. He doubted things could go back to the way they were before all this tournament business happened — their betrayal, Ron's blatant jealousy coupled with the things he'd said behind his back, was all but unforgivable in his eyes. Hermione's superiority complex that had reared its ugly head as of late was equally as off-putting, and the scathing insults she'd spat in his face, as well as those hideous badges, didn't help in the slightest.

Harry took off his pyjamas and got in the shower; taking a deep breath as the hot water cascaded down his back. Sleeping through the night had lifted his mood quite a bit, enough to look forward to his visit to the kitchens with Daphne, despite still feeling a bit hesitant around her.

He lathered his hair and stood under the hot water to wash the shampoo out. When he was sure all the soap was gone he turned off the tap and grabbed a towel to dry his hair and face. He wrapped the towel around his hips and stepped in front of one of the mirrors. It was covered with steam from the shower he had just taken, but a quick wipe of his hand allowed his blurry face to appear. He grabbed his glasses, putting them on, he made a mental note to ask one of his friends if there was a way to fix his eyes with a potion or spell. Surely if they could re-grow bones from scratch, such a menial problem would be a piece of cake for a wizard or witch to remedy. He noticed his face was still a bit flushed from the hot water but other than that he looked fine. The bags under his eyes were finally gone, much to his relief. Harry looked at his watch and sighed; the others would be starting to wake right about now. He dressed hurriedly and returned to his room. Sure enough he saw Seamus already sitting in his bed looking groggily around, but Harry paid him no mind and grabbed his schoolbag. He made sure his cloak and map were in it before leaving for the common room downstairs.

There were a few students already up and the majority still looked half asleep — something that Harry took advantage of by making his way through the room at a fast pace; too fast for their weary minds to even comprehend his passing. He was in a good mood, but not to the point to stay and socialize. Many of his housemates still thought him a cheat, after all. He remembered that his godfather told him he should expand his circle of friends, but how could he be sure they weren't just being his friends because he was the-boy-who-lived or the 'fourth Champion'?

Harry walked distractedly to the library. Last night before bed he'd come up with an idea concerning the dragons. There had to be a spell to imitate other spells without the damage they caused — it was magic after all.

When he arrived at the library he silently made his way through the stacks of books, and promptly discovered that he had no idea where to begin looking. When he noticed how much time he'd spent roaming without luck he decided to question Madam Pince. She gave him an appreciative look when he asked. It seemed no one ever approached her about books on spells or her opinion on anything.

"Well I've heard some charms are used for birthday celebrations and such. There are people who aren't overly fond of fireworks and those charms work fine without all the fuss."

Harry nodded happily. It sounded about right. "Where could I find a book with those kind of charms?" he asked giving her a half smile, trying to sound as polite as possible.

"Let me get it for you young man," she said returning the smile. Harry followed her to the charms section and watched patiently as she searched; finally pulling a book from one of the shelves. She handed it to him with a friendly smile. "This should have what you're looking for."

Harry was glad when the strict-looking woman didn't inquire what he needed the charms book for, and they walked together to the front desk where Harry signed the book out. He thanked her and promised to himself that next time he came to the library he would at least say hello to the librarian. It must be really boring being stuck in a place where you couldn't talk all day long.

He ran all the way to the Great Hall and let out a sigh of relief when he noticed that students were still eating. He spotted Neville sitting down near the staff's table and walked hurriedly to his friend. He grabbed a plate and sat down before piling it high with food.

"Morning," Neville greeted him. "I didn't see you in the common room and assumed you were already down here."

Harry leaned forward and said in a low tone of voice, "Stopped by the library first."

Neville raised a curious eyebrow but abstained from asking questions. If it involved the tournament as he imagined, now was not the time to speak of it. Hogwarts' rumour mill was legendary after all, and the Great Hall was hardly the most secure area to talk about such sensitive topics.

He watched as Harry practically devoured his breakfast, and when the green-eyed youth noticed his friend's surprised face he shrugged. "I still have to go to the kitchens with Daphne," he explained to Neville.

Both teens failed to notice Hermione eating her breakfast silently beside a still-sleepy Ron listening intently to their conversation a few places down the bench. Her eyes glittered with triumph.

* * *

Daphne was waiting impatiently for Harry by the corridor that led to the Hufflepuff common room. Several students eyed her warily as they walked by. He was late and she looked like a fool standing alone by a corridor that was normally only accessed by 'Puffs.

She'd seen Harry bolt into the hall from where she'd been sitting at the Slytherin table, almost completely missing breakfast, and had given him the courtesy of five minutes before standing up and leaving the hall to wait for him. How long could it take for him to show up? It shouldn't take him more than a minute to walk from the Gryffindor table to where she was standing now.

Daphne jumped when someone touched her shoulder and let out a very uncharacteristic girlish yelp of surprise. She pulled a black lock of hair behind her ear as she glared at the blushing but mischievously smiling boy standing beside her. "I really should invest in a bell for you!"

Harry laughed silently. He was quite pleased with himself. He had been planning on that little surprise ever since the black-haired Slytherin left the hall, and the look on Daphne's face when he'd touched her shoulder had simply been priceless.

He'd waited longer for another reason as well. They weren't hiding their friendship but Harry didn't want anyone following them to the kitchens since it was one of the best-kept secrets in Hogwarts with only the teachers and a handful of students knowing of its location. He'd made doubly sure checking that nobody was nosing around.

"It's good to know that my stealthy moves work. You never know when you'll need them." He smiled broadly at her when she huffed in annoyance.

"I'm glad you find me amusing."

Harry ignored her comment, instead grabbing her arm as he started walking to the kitchens. "Lets go, we don't have much time before classes start and I don't want to be late for History of Magic."

Daphne gave him a sceptical look. He didn't want to be late to _that_ class? You could dance on the darn desk in the middle of those droning, perpetually monotone lectures and Professor Binns wouldn't bat an eyelid.

Once they reached their destination Harry made sure no one had followed them one last time before he tickled the pear. The portrait swung open and they walked through the doorway, closing it behind them. They were instantly surrounded by house-elves, and in Harry's case he had a small, floppy-eared elf all but humping his leg possessively.

He saw Daphne shoot an irritated but utterly astonished glance towards the now babbling elf; he shrugged his shoulders with a sheepish grin. "What am I supposed to do?"

Daphne ignored him with a roll of her eyes and instead sought out Cotton, upon finding him she motioned the small house-elf to follow her. They walked away from the mass of house-elves and started talking quietly; several seconds later Harry finally managed to free himself from Dobby. He really liked the elf, but the way he went about 'saving' him during second year left him a bit weary... as well as his rather… exuberant greetings. "I'll be back in a second Dobby, you stay right here, alright?"

Harry managed to hear the last bit of the conversation Daphne was having with Cotton as he sauntered over. "—you sure they're keeping them there?"

"Yes miss. Cotton heard the Headmaster say to Professor Moody were the dragons would stay until the task."

Before Daphne could thank Cotton they heard the portrait leading to the kitchens open again. '_Who would come here at this hour?' _Harry thought, panicking slightly.

He saw a head full of untamed bushy hair and knew instantly who it was. He saw how Daphne tensed beside him, while he felt a sense of unease in the pit of his stomach. '_This won't end well.'_

"What are _you_ doing here?" Daphne spat between clenched teeth. Harry noticed Daphne had pulled out her wand and mentally scrambled for a way to diffuse the situation quickly, or he was in for a screaming match with hexes thrown in for good measure, at least if Daphne's defensive stance was anything to go by. He stood in front of her, blocking her partially from Hermione's view.

Harry saw all the small creatures gave his ex-best friend a very wide berth. He had heard from Neville that she was still going about trying to free the house-elves. Hermione scoffed and crossed her arms. "What are you doing here? You should be heading to class."

Harry tensed, his previous good mood vanishing instantly. Why was she always trying to question him? He had told her quite clearly last time that it wasn't any of her business anymore.

"Are you really asking me that? And how did you know we were down here?" he volleyed back.

Hermione turned red, Harry didn't know if it was in embarrassment or anger, nor did he really care. "I heard when you told Neville that you were coming to the kitchens with _her_," she said pointing her chin towards Daphne. He saw Daphne's wand shoot red sparks and grabbed one of her small hands, rubbing his thumb on the back of her palm without thinking in an attempt to calm her down.

"Oh, I didn't know you liked to listen in on private conversations," he mocked Hermione. "If you were so intent on eavesdropping then I must ask… why didn't you notice the rather _glaring_ lack of an open invitation?"

Hermione's eyes flashed with several emotions, Harry recognized anger and envy among others. Was it finally dawning on her that he didn't actually need her anymore?

"Did you come here to make these poor creatures do something for you?" she replied scathingly, and this time it was Harry's wand that started to shoot small sparks. His eyes darkening with repressed fury.

"Did you even research anything on house-elves before you decided to go on this silly crusade of SPEW?"

Hermione scoffed and replied in a haughty tone. "No one deserves to be enslaved. This creatures deserve their freedom, and its S.P.E.W."

Many house-elves cringed and moved farther away from the bushy-haired girl. He noticed that she hadn't really answered his question. "Really? And do you even know what happens to them once you give them clothes?"

Hermione's face lost all colour. She shuffled nervously for a moment and finally straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. "Of course, why wouldn't I know what happens to them? They should be paid for their services, not forced to work for horrible wizards who have no morals."

Daphne giggled behind him, Hermione narrowed her eyes at the blue-eyed girl. "You think it's funny how the wizarding world treats this creatures?"

"I wouldn't find it funny if it were true!"

Harry started to panic. He knew the Greengrasses had several house-elves working for them and Hermione had indirectly called them a bunch of demoralized wizards.

"You base your assumptions on one case, Granger. How many families besides the Malfoys own house-elves? And you didn't answer Harry's question. Do you or do you not know what happens to them once you free them?"

Hermione had walked right into that one. She prided herself in knowing everything there was to know on several topics. Then why hadn't she done the same in this case? He knew the muggles abhorred slavery, and he was right there with the muggles in that opinion… but in this case Hermione was wrong.

"I… well, that is to say…" she stuttered, her face paling even further.

"They lose their magic, go crazy and die Granger, that's what happens to them once they're free!"

"That can't be true!" Hermione shouted. "What about Dobby, he's a free house-elf and he's fine—"

"Is he really free?" Harry interrupter her, "Did you ask him yourself?"

"Of course I did!" Hermione shrank back. Harry's body language was screaming he was about to explode. "He told me he gets paid for his services."

"And you believed everything he told you? A unbalanced house-elf that tried to 'save' me from coming to Hogwarts by almost getting me killed?" from the corner of his eye he saw Dobby's eyes fill with unshed tears.

"Dobby is sorry! Dobby only wanted to keep Mr. Harry Potter sir safe!" the tiny elf wailed.

"Look what you did!" Hermione tried to approach the sobbing elf only for him to shy away from her.

"It's alright Dobby, you thought you were trying to do the right thing," Harry said to Dobby gently. He saw the house-elf demeanour change completely. He went from a crying wreck to insanely happy in a blink of an eye. He did appreciate what Dobby tried to do but he wanted to keep himself as far away from the obviously crazy house-elf as possible.

"Dobby do you belong to someone even when you get paid?" Daphne spoke from her place beside Harry. Hermione was about to interrupt but one look at Harry made her shut her mouth instantly. He had to admit he too was a bit curious. It was evident Dobby was a few cards short of a deck but by now he should have been completely insane. At one time after Daphne had explained about the house-elves he thought about asking Dobby if he needed a new master, but discarded the idea just as quickly imagining the hyperactive house-elf taking care of him.

"Yes miss. Dobby has a master. He pays Dobby to work at Hogwarts!" he stated proudly.

Hermione's mouth opened in shock. "B-but that's not right, he said he was getting paid, he said nothing about having an owner!"

"You silly girl," Daphne scoffed, "You didn't ask the right questions. You only asked what you wanted answers to."

Harry smiled smugly at Hermione. Silly girl indeed. She went guns-a-blazing without gathering all the facts first. He admitted that he himself should have read up on the subject before taking Daphne's words as the truth, but everything she had said so far was right — not counting what she had withheld from him about the underground society. He made a mental note to check the book she had showed him on wizarding families to see what else it said about his own family. In fact he had a lot of research to do; he didn't want to take everything anyone told him at face value — even though books could lie too. He remembered something Sirius had said… _To the victor go the spoils of war_. He shuddered mentally; he wondered how far people were willing to go to hide the truth.

Once Hermione started ranting about how it was all a lie Daphne had made up to embarrass her in front of Harry he tuned her voice out. He glanced at Daphne who apparently had the same idea in mind. He felt someone pull the edge of his trousers lightly. He looked down and found Cotton shuffling from foot to foot nervously.

"Mr. Potter… you need to leave." his voice was barely heard above Hermione's loud voice, "Mr. Potter is going to be late to class!"

Harry looked at his watch and knew the house-elf was right. If they didn't leave now, even going through several shortcuts they would be late. He nudged Daphne pointing at his watch. She nodded and leaned so she was facing Cotton. "Thank you for all your help and as always if you hear anything important just send a note."

The house-elf bowed making Daphne blush. Harry tilted his head slightly to the side and raised a curious eyebrow. Daphne shrugged and mouthed 'later'.

"As fun as this is," Harry said with all the sarcasm he could muster, "We're late for class."

That stopped Hermione's tirade on the spot. She blushed and started muttering under her breath about how it was their entire fault she was late for class. Of course he and Daphne would probably arrive with barely enough time to spare but he hadn't showed Hermione all the passages in the castle that were on the map and he doubted she remembered the ones she did know about.

Daphne pulled Harry along making him notice that they were still holding hands. He blushed but didn't let go. He looked at Hermione who still hadn't moved. If they walked fast enough they could lose her in one of the corridors.

"Cheerio!" he smirked at his former friend as they walked past her. Daphne just shot her a 'stay the hell away' look and continued moving. They pushed the portrait open and walked out.

Once Harry was sure the portrait was closed he sprinted down the corridor pulling Daphne with him. When they rounded the first corner he stopped and pulled a tapestry aside. He gave Daphne no time to protest as he dragged her along with him to a pitch-black niche, covering her mouth with his free hand. The space was very small and forced them into a rather awkward position; Daphne's body pulled flush against his. Harry felt his face heat up but there was nothing he could do until he was sure Hermione had walked past the entrance of the hidden alcove. One of the shortcuts was a couple of corridors down but he wasn't sure they could've made it without Hermione spotting them so he took a chance and hid in the little dark alcove. He tensed when he heard footsteps approaching. They sounded hurried so it was clearly Hermione. Once he didn't hear noises anymore he let go of Daphne. He noticed that her breathing was a bit laboured and was about to apologize to her when she slapped him on the arm. "Why did you do that for?"

"Erm… I," he cleared his throat making the rather uncomfortable lump disappear, "I didn't want Hermione to follow us. I know a few passageways but they were too far, this was the closest niche I could remember without looking at the map."

Daphne drew the tapestry back and walked out of the confined space. Harry saw that her face was probably as red as his and she avoided meeting his eyes. He thought about calling her out on it but they were really going to be late if they didn't start moving.

* * *

During lunch Harry had gone to Great Hall, grabbed some food, and walked outside. He sat by the Great Lake on his favourite spot and ate in silence while searching for the charm he had in mind for the task. All of it would be for naught if his crazy plan fell through.

He looked through the index of _Charms and Illusions: A wizard's guide for the perfect gathering, _and located what sounded like a substitute charm for fireworks. He turned to the page it specified, reading through the instructions and found the spell easy enough to perform. Though he would need the dragon to make enough noise to drown out his voice for it to look realistic. All he had to do was say _lux pigmentum_ followed by the colour he wanted, say blue. His wand would then shoot a jet of blue light just as the _reductor _curse did.

He practiced the charm several times, each time trying to lower his voice until it came out barely above a whisper and the charm still worked every time. When he was satisfied with the results he closed the book and stuffed it back in his schoolbag.

He felt quite proud of himself. He had no help whatsoever and had come up with the idea all on his own. Since it was a pretty easy charm with hardly any wand movement he worked it out from the very beginning.

He stood up and brushed his trousers, he made sure he hadn't left anything laying around and headed back to the castle. He still had double potions with the Slytherins and Snape to deal with.

* * *

That same evening after classes were over for the day the four students decided to skip dinner so they could make their way to the Forbidden Forest without any witnesses. Harry hoped that his plan to talk to the dragons worked. If it did it would make wining the task a lot easier without getting himself in danger.

Harry had spotted a few moving dots near the forest in the marauder's map during his History of Magic class. He guessed it was some of the wizards that were taking care of the dragons. He knew it would probably take them some time to find the exact location where they were keeping them but they still had some time to spare before curfew.

Harry noticed Neville shaking slightly beside him; the girls were walking a few steps ahead of them with their wands alight. "Are you alright Nev?"

"S-sure Harry… I just really don't like the Forbidden Forest."

Harry chuckled quietly. "It's fine Nev, I don't think many students like the forest."

Neville's cheeks tinged a slight pink. "Let's get this over with. The sooner we find them the faster we can get back to the common room."

"Let's just hope this plan works."

After about half an hour later they started to see faint lights coming from a clearing. When they reached the edge of the trees, Daphne and Millie whispered _Nox_ and pocketed their wands. It wouldn't do them any good to get caught now.

Everyone froze when a loud roar came from the small clearing. Once Harry's sight adjusted he saw that the four dragons were being kept in huge cages with chains wrapped around their necks and extremities, tight straps were tied around their snouts to keep them from breathing fire. He didn't like seeing the beasts all bound up but maybe that way they wouldn't fry him to a crisp if they noticed him.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Harry jumped slightly when Daphne whispered beside him. He nodded his head and walked silently to one of the cages, making sure the dragon keepers weren't near any of the cages.

He'd thought about using his invisibility cloak but Daphne, Millicent and Neville were still in the dark about it, and until he was sure he trusted them completely the cloak was going to stay a secret.

The nearest cage contained a copper-colour dragon; it had several horns protruding form behind its face and big yellow eyes. He said a silent prayer and stood in front of its cage.

"Hello? Can you understand me?" Harry held his breath waiting for the dragon's reaction.

* * *

Standing in the champions' tent before the task Harry looked around to see the other three nervous teenagers' reactions. He saw pretty-boy Diggory lose the entire colour in his face and then turn slightly green when Mr. Bagman finally told them what the first task consisted of. The other two foreigners stood with stoic faces, clearly unsurprised at the revelation. It seemed Millie had been right when she said that one way or another the champions always managed to find out what they were supposed to face during past tournaments.

"Alright everyone, gather 'round!" Bagman's voice resounded in the small tent once all the judges were present.

"I have in this bag a small model of the dragon you are about to face, you will have to collect… a _golden egg_ from said dragon," Ludo Bagman chirped happily as if he was talking about the weather. As fate would have it Harry was the last to pick from the purple silk bag.

Fleur pulled the Welsh Green with a number two around its neck from the purple sack, followed by Victor Krum, the famous Quidditch player, who chose the Chinese Fireball with the number three, and finally Cedric Diggory who got the Swedish Short-Snout with the number one around its neck… leaving Harry with the fiercest and most dangerous dragon of the four, the Hungarian Horntail. He smirked, thankful that he would be the last to go. He hoped the rest of the students appreciated the show he was about to perform for them.

Mr. Crouch stated that each player would have a limited time to face the dragon and collect the golden egg, and if they failed they wouldn't know what the second task would be; leaving them at a huge disadvantage. The judges wished the contestants good luck and left the tent. After a brief announcement that had all the students cheering, Cedric's name was called and shaking like a leaf, he dragged his feet all the way to his fate.

Harry heard the 'Oohs!' and 'Aahs!' coming from beyond the champions' tent, at some point he heard horrified screams followed by sparse applauses. One of the judges announced the next champion and this time the French veela left the tent. After the public noise died down the process was repeated a third time. Before Krum left the tent he gave Harry a slight nod.

Of the three other champions Krum had been the least hostile. Harry wondered why that was, but clearly now was not the time to ask. He returned the nod and smiled slightly.

Harry spent the rest of the remaining time pacing around the tent. He remembered how that morning, after eating some breakfast, Ron and Hermione had approached him. Oddly enough the only thing they had done was wish him good luck. He had looked at them as if they were crazy. After everything they had done _now_ they decided to wish him luck?

He was pulled form his musings by the announcer calling his name. He heard several people booing and even less cheering than anybody before him. Despite the lack of applause however, there was some clapping and Harry wondered who those students were. Surely his three friends weren't alone out there.

Harry took a deep breath and walked out the tent, he had to admit that the sight in front of him was nothing short of impressive. The dragon was still chained by the neck, making it impossible to escape, but its legs and snout were now free. Harry looked around the arena and noticed that everyone was watching him with open curiosity waiting to see what he would do next.

He nodded imperceptibly to the dragon making people jump when the Hungarian Horntail answered with a roar of fury. Harry pointed his wand towards the dragon muttering _lux pigmentum blue. _Jets of blue light left his wand and smashed against the towering dragon. It was its queue to breath fire missing him by a slight hair, all planed of course. Harry crouched and dove into a roll before hiding behind a large rock.

He remembered how furious the dragons had been when he told them about the tournament. Mothering dragons were beyond aggressive when provoked, and that's what the champions had to do by steal an egg from them, even if it was a fake egg.

All four dragons had agreed to help Harry if any of them were chosen for him to face. He was extremely thankful after the Horntail had nodded its head that night. It was the first time he was grateful to have his parseltongue ability.

Harry peaked from behind the rock and shot a pure white jet of light at the dragon, making the Hungarian Horntail take a slight step back while it kept on roaring. Each colour had a meaning for the dragon to do something, either breath fire, move a step back or to the side while still making as much noise as possible while Harry worked his way closer to the nest. Finally when he was about halfway to his goal the young wizard pulled out his trump card; the pièce de résistance. He'd discovered a reference to the spell in the very same book he'd found the light-jet charm, only it was _slightly_ more complex.

After digging around in some of the more obscure tomes in the Hogwarts Library, once again with the helpful assistance of Madam Pince, he'd finally managed to track down a copy of the book in question: '_Reality and illusion; blurring the boundaries' _by a barely-known wizard, Gautier Astor Bellerose, in the late seventeenth century. He liked to think that what he was about to do was his grand statement to the world that he wasn't a push-over anymore; that he'd fight fire with fire… literally. Closing his eyes he blocked out the frenzied yells, cheers and booing. He blocked out every single thought but one; an image that he had been constructing every single night for the past week before he went to sleep.

Even the heat from the dragon's fire melting the rock he was hidden behind didn't faze Harry, and with a deliberate movement he stood on top of the rock behind him; his entire body out in the open. The crowd went dead silent for a moment, but got even louder with cheers and taunting laughs when the dragon took in a huge breath clearly getting ready to vaporise Harry with its unfathomably hot fire.

Before the dragon could follow through on its attack however, a loud crack echoed out in the arena making everybody take pause and look around for the source of the noise. Nobody noticed Harry finishing a long, complicated motion with his wand, which was held inconspicuously against his side, nor him finishing a long-winded Latin incantation. What they _did_ notice, and what drove everybody into complete shock and silence, was Harry raising his arms and crying out with a guttural growl… seconds later ravines and cracks opened up in the arena ground… followed by the smell of brimstone that accompanied the furious fires that burst forth.

When Harry opened his eyes again he breathed a quiet sigh of relief, but didn't let his serious expression waver. Within mere seconds the arena had been transformed from a rocky obstacle course to something that resembled what should surely belong in the pits of hell itself.

Fires raged and licked the observer banisters, making those in the front seats scream and yell as they jumped backwards from the waves of broiling heat. The smell of the sulphur was enough to make people scream in terror, especially when coupled with the nightmare-inducing imagery they were beholding. Harry Potter stood proudly on top of the boulder surrounded by white-hot flames of perdition; his face devoid of anything but confidence and determination.

To everybody outside of the arena itself Harry walked through undeniably lethal flames without a single break in his step; a thin blue halo surrounding his entire body. To everybody outside the arena the dragon was roaring and breathing lancing pillars of flame at Harry… who simply raised his hand and stopped them with a small motion of his fingers. To everybody outside the arena Harry appeared to them as a man with total control of fire; a man who was in his element and besting the one creature on Earth considered to be undefeatable in its home ground.

Inside the arena it was a completely different story. Harry _was_ walking towards the dragon who was slowly shuffling away to the opposite side of the arena. Harry _was_ getting closer to the golden egg, and Harry _was_ emitting a slight blue aura. The blue aura however, rather than being some incredible protection against the ethereal fires of hell and a dragon, was a manifestation of the energy required to project the image within his mind onto the outside world. As he neared the egg he could feel the incredible drain on his magic taking its toll and so hurried forth — his illusionary-self seeming to pick up the pace and leap gracefully from boulder to glowing-hot boulder with unearthly ease.

When he grabbed the egg he gave the nesting dragon a bow of respect and thanks, receiving an inclined head in return, along with a small smirk — something he thought he'd never see on a dragon — and ran back to the tent's entrance as fast as his slightly-shaking legs could take him. The moment he reached the entrance he stopped, turned around, and then made a slicing motion with his hand — initialising the last part of the spell. The draw on his magic within the next second was astronomical making him waver on his feet, his vision actually blacking out for a moment.

The cracks closed up, the fires of hell disappeared, and the smell of sulphur dispersed… and yet the boulders that had been exposed to the 'heat' of the white-hot fire still glowed and in some cases the boulders disappeared simply leaving puddles of molten rock glowing on the ground. That was the last part of the spell; ensuring that the aftermath appeared real in the wake of the illusion, and thus ensuring maximum credibility. Superheating an arena's worth of rocks and boulders was no small task, especially considering that only just recently had Harry been getting into shape and training his magical core.

With fuzzed vision and a body that felt like lead Harry left the audience behind him utterly and totally gobsmacked. At that moment, despite having done it all for showmanship, he honestly couldn't care less about what they thought. He just wanted to lie down and get a pepper-up potion.

* * *

Harry finally got rid of Madam Pomfrey after agreeing to take some _draught of peace_ to 'calm' his nerves, and she returned to Cedric Diggory's side when the Hufflepuff started moaning and twitching in pain.

He knew the draught was taking effect when he started feeling relaxed and all the stress left his body. He sat on the edge of the makeshift bed and closed his eyes, waiting for Madam Pomfrey to give him the all-clear so he could finally leave.

Harry's eyes shot open when he heard Neville talking loudly outside the tent. One of the flaps was pulled and in came his three friends. They approached him with shit-eating and awed grins on their faces and Harry stood up to greet them.

Neville immediately patted his back, "That was… mate, I can't even describe just how bloody amazing that was!"

"Yeah, that was one hell of a show Potter," Millicent said, her tone filled with excitement and no small amount of awe and breathlessness. Harry thanked them and returned their smiles with one of his own. He finally turned his head to look at Daphne. She was standing a little behind Neville with a look that radiated extreme pride, amazement, and something else that made his face burn and a goofy smile spread across his lips. He didn't know if it was the potion the matron had force-fed him or what, but she looked quite beautiful at that moment. He felt his heart rate pick up and his palms sweat a little when she pushed Neville slightly out of the way and approached him, and his blush surged into full-force when she threw her arms around his neck.

"That… I've never seen anything so incredible in my life" she whispered near his ear making his spine tingle pleasantly. "You were… just amazing out there."

He felt himself blush even harder, if that was at all possible and was about to answer her when they heard someone clear their throat behind them. They jumped apart as if something had burned them, both heads snapping to where the interruption had come from. Their expressions turned icy when they saw just who had done the deed. Standing by the entrance of the tent was Hermione, looking smug, though with an obvious undertone of jealousy, with a red faced Ron beside her.

"What is going on in here?" Ron's voice was on the brink of becoming a scream, "What are you doing with _those_ Slytherins?"

"Really Ron? You came all this way just to ask about that?" Harry teased his former friend. Now he knew the draught was affecting him somewhat because he couldn't even make himself angry towards Ron and Hermione.

Ron's face turned a darker shade of red and spluttered, "Since when do you associate with those slimy snakes? They're evil Harry, you surely know that, right?"

Harry watched as Neville and Millicent's faces flushed. He was completely tired of having the same type of conversations over and over again. Once upon a time he would've probably reacted the same way as Ron but they all had to grow up at some point and see the people behind the Hogwarts house stereotypes. It would do them no good to turn down a hand in friendship because they were basing their judgement of a potential new friend merely on that person's school-time house.

"It doesn't matter Ron, why are you really here?" His tired tone was evident to all the people in the tent.

Hermione decided to interrupt whatever reply Ron had planned. "We came here to congratulate you and also to…" she gulped nervously, the smugness disappearing suddenly, "We wanted to ask you to forgive us."

Harry looked from Ron's still slightly red face to Hermione's pleading one. "Why should I? What do you want me to forgive you for?"

Saying his former friends were shocked was an understatement. They had clearly not expected that answer from him. He mentally laughed. What did they think? One sorry and its all forgive and forget? Did they really think he was mentally deficient or something? Perhaps the old Harry Potter; the one that didn't study because he knew that Hermione liked to be best; the one that was so desperate for friendship who wore rags so that Ron wouldn't get jealous; the old Harry that they thought he still was… perhaps he would have forgiven them without a second thought… but he was no longer that Harry.

He shook his head slightly trying to clear it. "I probably don't even want to know, do I?" Harry asked Neville.

His friend shrugged, "It's really up to you mate."

Hermione huffed calling all the attention to her. "Now you need Neville's permission to speak to us? That's rich Harry, _we_ are your friends not them," she said tilting her head towards Neville and the two Slytherins. "Especially not that pug-faced troll," she sneered at Millie, and Harry managed only in a nick of time to turn around and glare at all three of his friends — stopping them dead in their tracks; murderous expressions marred by shock as they saw his green eyes _literally_ glowing with repressed magic and anger.

Taking a deep breath he turned around to face his two old friends and finally opened his eyes; both Hermione and Ron stiffening and both took an unconscious step back at the fear they felt shudder down their spines. "Alright, I'll bite," Harry spat from between clenched teeth, eliciting another step back from the pair under the terrifying gaze of his killing-curse coloured eyes. "What do you want to apologize for?"

"Erm… w-we, um… Ron and I, that is, should have been there for you. W-we should've helped you train for the tournament. It didn't look good that we abandoned you just because you wouldn't admit the truth… and, I mean, it's clear you cheated again because you can't do magic like you did today but—" Hermione cut herself off mid-sentence when small ripples started appearing in the air around Harry's body, and she felt her body stiffen in response, she was literally paralysed with shock and a decent amount of fear at the sheer power Harry was unconsciously emitting.

"I can't believe you!" he said with barely contained rage, "You dare come in here, try to apologize for stabbing me in the back, and expect me to forgive you? And more than that, you have the gall to _tell _me who _my _friends are? And then, if that wasn't enough _Hermione, _you _dare _call a very good friend of mine; a friend whose support led to my survival of this _fucking _task; a friend who believed that I didn't put my name into the Goblet; a _friend… _you dare insult her? And me by calling me a cheat _all over again?!_

"And Neville, he's helped me far more in this ordeal than _both _of you combined! In fact you've done the exact _opposite! _I _know _it was you Hermione, who helped create those badges." He smirked darkly when her face paled. "I bet you thought you were _so _smart; turning the school against me and making me even more of an outcast than I already was. And you, _Ron,_ you wore one of those badges. You spread rumours behind my back; saying I was a cheat, a spoiled little rich boy… you even spread the rumour that the only reason I made it to the Quidditch team was because _before _our first flying lesson you _taught me how to fucking fly! _

"But the thing that takes the cake, really it does, is that you still think I did it! And more than that, you insult me _again_ by insinuating that I couldn't have done what I did because I'm too weak; too stupid and to _useless without you!_ I had to face a dragon, a _nesting Hungarian Horntail! _And steal one of her bloody _eggs_! _Nesting dragon…steal egg_… do you know how fucking dangerous that is?!" he finished at an almost screaming volume. It was clear to _everybody_ that Harry's magic had well and truly burned all vestiges of the calming draught from his system. Harry wasn't a cusser at the worst of times… before this incident that is, and it spoke volumes about just how intense his anger was that he had sworn not once, not twice, but _several _times, and he'd hardly used the most tame of curse-words.

Ron's face was looking more and more like a tomato about to explode, and it didn't take long before Mt. Weasley erupted full-force; his face twisted into a snarl of anger and his words spat out as if they were the vilest things in the entire universe. "And those filthy Slytherins do? Hermione told me Professor Dumbledore said you cheated, why would he lie?"

"What am I, chopped liver?"

Neville's wand was pointing at Ron with its tip bright blue, and the fight was all but guaranteed to happen — however mere moments before outright war broke out between the two factions, much to Harry's relief, Madam Pomfrey came to the rescue. "I have sick students in here," she all but growled, "You will stop this nonsense this very instant or I'll assign detention to all of you!"

Everyone shrank back as the matron scolded them, but internally Harry was thanking his lucky stars that they'd only been told off. The fight that would have broken out otherwise would have been brutal… and very, very short and probably would have left both Ron and Hermione injured, which could've led to something far more serious than a mere detention. Ron turned to leave, his head down like an admonished puppy, while Hermione shot all of them a look filled with loathing. "This isn't over Harry, we will talk once you get rid of _them_."

'_That girl has gone completely of her trolley'_ Harry thought. Even Ron's reaction had been somewhat mild compared to what he had in mind. Hermione on the other hand… well there had been several confrontations since they had broken off their friendship, and in all of them she had never asked for forgiveness or admitted she had been wrong. Only this time she had gone and done the one thing that Harry simply wouldn't stand for anymore; nobody insulted his friends. Granted, even Harry had gone out of his way to rip into Slytherins when Malfoy or someone else went all out on Hermione or Ron, but when had Daphne and Millie, let alone Neville, insulted them?

Well, Daphne _had_ called Hermione that awful word, but then again Daphne had been provoked — once again because her family had been insulted. Harry was so confused. If only Ron and Hermione could admit that they had been wrong it would've made things so much easier. He probably wouldn't have forgiven them on the spot, but maybe with time they may have regained some semblance of friendship.

As it was however, Harry had the feeling that something fundamental had changed between him and his old friends. Hermione had insulted Millie in one of the worst ways possible. Harry knew from his short friendship with the larger Slytherin girl that she was intensely conscious of her attractiveness, or rather lack of, and such insults like the one Hermione had thrown would probably leave quite a mark. Harry just couldn't see why he'd want to forgive them, let alone befriend them again, when their true colours were so utterly deplorable.

And then, as if he didn't have enough on his plate already, there was the Dumbledore issue. Ron and Hermione were so sure the Headmaster was the one telling the truth, but that brought up the question of why Dumbledore would go out of his way to turn his friends against him in the first place — going so far as to tell a blatant lie.

"Harry, are you alright?" Daphne's soft voice pulled him back to reality and he nodded his head wearily. "Yeah, just a bit tired is all."

Neville patted his back once more before retreating to one of the seats around Harry's bed as the fourth champion himself lay down. "What are you going to do about those two?"

Harry looked at the ceiling of the tent unseeingly, a furrow slowly becoming more and more pronounced on his brow. '_What am I going to do?_' Even just thinking about the whirlwind of emotions tumbling about inside him was giving him a headache. "I don't know Nev," he finally muttered, "I really don't know."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: All characters, places, and anything familiar from the Harry Potter books and movies belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros.**

**A/N: Thanks to my wonderful beta KennethRose who helped me write part of the chapter again. Also thanks to all the people who read, reviewed, followed and favorited the story. Hope everyone enjoys the new chapter!**

* * *

_**Chapter 8**_

Harry was in a foul mood all the way to the Great Hall the morning after the first task. Remembering just how tired and sleepy he had been last night on his way to the common room, only to discover everyone cheering and celebrating how he got through to the next task, made him grit his teeth in anger. When he had tried to excuse himself, his Quidditch teammates — including the Weasley twins — had all but forced him to the centre of the room, loudly encouraging the chants for him to open the golden egg. He had thrown a panicked look at Neville who had shrugged helplessly, and so had resigned himself to conforming to the crowd's, who mere hours prior had hated him and called him a cheater, wishes.

Once he opened the egg they had left him alone, and Harry was left both grateful and extremely irritated afterwards; the former because his housemates had quite promptly taken a hike, and the latter because his already-thumping headache had just hit ten on the Richter scale.

He had sluggishly made his way towards the stairs, followed silently by an apologetic and worried-looking Neville, and had spotted Ron and Hermione talking quietly by a corner, undisturbed by the rest of the students. He had ignored the wounded looks his former friends had thrown his way, and the frowns and even more hurt looks when they realized that he honestly couldn't care less that they were feeling that way, and finally climbed the set of steps leading to the fourth year dorms. The only thing he had wanted to do was sleep and forget that the rest of the world existed.

Harry and Neville reached the Great Hall and sat in the Gryffindor table near the entrance doors; as far away as humanly possible from the rest of the house. Neville thought Harry would've been ecstatic after the incredible show he'd put on the day before, but his friend's mood had been deteriorating ever since the party in the common room the previous night.

"What's with the cheerful disposition?" he tried joking, but his joke fell flat when Harry simply sent him a deadpanned, and very unamused stare before going back to his breakfast.

Neville sighed and was about to try to talk Harry out of his funk when he was interrupted by a group of third year Ravenclaws girls, all of whom loudly — much to Harry's increasing ire and headache — gushed over Harry's impressive display during the first task, and used the opportunity to assure him that they thought he had been innocent all along. As they prattled on about how completely unfair it was to be forced to compete Harry shot an incredulous look at Neville, who nodded in subtle agreement, and then proceeded to completely ignore the loud 'Claws.

Neville remembered how Harry had been fuming after the scores were announced. He had been the only champion to perform such incredible and powerful magic, let alone completing the task without any injury whatsoever, and yet he still wasn't in the lead. Even when Krum smashed several dragon eggs he was awarded with an almost perfect score — a far cry from the one Harry had gotten. Sure he was in second place, but for what he'd done… any person with a hint of common sense knew that he had deserved full marks.

What had surprised Harry was the ten points Karkaroff had given him along with Ludo Bagman. The Durmstrang Headmaster had never been happy with Harry being accepted as a fourth champion, and so Harry had assumed that the Headmaster would be biased against him when it came to judging him during the tasks… and yet that, apparently, couldn't be further from the truth. It was the British Ministry's own Barty Crouch that had given Harry the lowest score; a measly four, much to the audience and foreign delegates' utter confusion and booing.

And yet despite not even being in the lead students kept approaching him throughout the day, showing him their copies of the Prophet where he was praised for his show during the first task. After roughly a month of people giving him the evil eye and wearing those stupid badges Hermione had made they actually had the gall to seek him out and act as if they had been on his side all along. Harry took careful note that not a single soul apologized for their behaviour towards him prior to the first task.

To be quite frank, he wasn't in the least bit surprised.

* * *

After lunch Harry walked to his double Potions class with a feeling of impending doom twisting in his gut. Snape had been even more antagonistic than usual, if such a thing was at all possible, since he had been chosen as the fourth champion. Upon entering the room he took his book from his bag and sat next to Neville… a decision which turned out to be a very, very bad mistake after Neville blew his cauldron _again_ and instead of screaming at Neville, which was one of Snape's favourite hobbies, he loudly and hatefully berated Harry for not watching what Neville was doing with his potion.

When the class ended Harry strode from the room scowling and glaring at anybody that tried to stop and talk to him — scaring them quite easily away. He knew of the rumours that said that when he was angry his eyes glowed ominously, and felt like the victim was looking into the killing curse itself… and he was using that rumour to his complete advantage.

He genuinely didn't understand why Snape was always looking for ways to humiliate him. Ever since the first Potions class back in first year Snape had found ways to use him as a scapegoat _every single_ time, without fail, when something in his classroom went wrong; taking points left and right for the flimsiest of reasons. He wondered why Snape was still teaching at all considering his blatant disregard for fairness, equality, or professionalism when teaching… unless the students in question had green trim on their robes.

Someone called his name, forcing him to stop in an empty corridor so as not to appear completely rude, and he sighed; mentally preparing for yet another speech on his fantastic recovery of the golden egg and how they knew all along that he didn't put his name in the goblet.

Turning very reluctantly around he found himself pleasantly relieved to find Daphne at the end of the corridor walking hurriedly towards him.

He let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding; right now she was a very welcome sight compared to the simpering girls that had been following him all day. He stopped walking and waited for her to catch up to him.

"Where are you going?" Daphne asked when she reached his side, and Harry fixed her with a stare out the corner of his eye as she fell in-step with him.

"To the classroom we've been using. I need to find out how to solve the stupid egg."

"Did you bring it with you?" Her eyes shone with curiosity and Harry was hard pressed not to say 'awwww!' to the point that he actually stopped in the middle of the corridor to look at her. "You left in a hurry yesterday after the scores were announced and none of us actually got to see what it did."

Harry gave her a half smile and shrugged. "You didn't miss anything. When I opened it in the common room it just started screeching, so Neville actually _did_ see what it did… I don't think he was very impressed if the wince on his face was any indication."

A small smile twitched at Daphne's lips at the mental image. "Well did my cousin have any idea what it meant?"

Harry shook his head and resumed walking. Daphne followed, matching her steps with his, their shoulders bumping softly several times during the journey only to arrive at the classroom and find it empty.

"Where's Neville? He left the Potions classroom a few minutes before the rest of us," Daphne said as she pulled a chair near the desk they always used, a frown marring her brow.

"He said something about wanting to start on the essay Snape assigned," Harry told her with a roll of his eyes. He didn't understand Neville's urgency when they had the whole weekend to finish it.

"Where's Millicent?" This time it was Harry who asked. They all shared Friday's double Potions class so she should be here by now.

"She said something about tutoring a student in the library."

"Well it looks like it's just going to be the two of us." Harry regretted saying that the instant it left his mouth. He turned bright red making Daphne giggle nervously.

"Well are you going to open it?" Harry was grateful when Daphne changed the subject because really, he wasn't quite sure what was happening between them let alone how to react to it. He was still feeling a little hurt with the whole keeping him in the dark thing, but then again he _had_ been keeping things from them too.

He took the egg from his schoolbag and set it on the desk right in front of Daphne. He motioned for her to open the top and took a rather obvious step back; his hands coming automatically to cup over his ears. Daphne raised a delicate eyebrow and tsked at him. "Afraid of a silly egg."

Harry snorted. "You'll understand in a moment."

He tensed when she opened it, bracing himself for the horrible screeching sound, and found his expectations completely filled. After a few seconds of furious scrambling around on the floor from where she'd dropped it in her shock and pain, Daphne finally managed to close the egg — her ears still ringing.

"What in Merlin's name was that awful noise?"

"See, I told you," Harry said teasingly, his eyes shining with suppressed mirth. The look on her face when the screaming started had been priceless.

"Well, there has to be a way to figure this out. Do you have any ideas?" she huffed petulantly, crossing her arms over her chest. Harry's eyes immediately and automatically followed the movement of her arms, but when he noticed where his eyes had landed he blushed again. '_Is it getting hot in here?'_ he thought, incredibly embarrassed, after diverting his eyes back to the golden egg.

"Err, I was thinking that it resembles a dragon's egg… so maybe if I heat it up something might happen…" he sheepishly trailed off. He remembered that back in first year Hagrid had boiled the egg to emulate a dragon's breath or something along the lines — hence the root of his idea.

Daphne smiled at him approvingly. "That's actually a very clever idea Harry. How are you going to heat it up?"

"Either a spell or dropping it in a cauldron with boiling water. I'd prefer the latter idea though; that way no magic can interfere or damage the egg."

"We can go to the library and search for spells or sneak back to the potions classroom later to use one of the cauldrons… I'm leaning towards your second idea too — it's safer that way."

Harry wasn't sure either of those options sounded attractive at the moment. They still had three months to figure it out and prepare for the second task, so perhaps taking a day off was in order.

"Why don't we go and sit by the lake instead. There's still time to figure things out later." Daphne's eyes widened in surprise, she'd thought that Harry would've wanted to figure out the clue as soon as possible, so him suggesting a break to simply relax was an unexpected but welcome surprise.

Of the few things that worried Harry, perhaps his biggest concern below somebody trying to get him killed was the advantage the other champions had over him, so going for a walk came out of the blue considering how hard they had been training the last month. Still she nodded her head and began reaching for her bag.

"Leave it, will just lock the classroom."

She smirked and left her bag where it was. "Sounds good."

* * *

They had stopped by the kitchens on the way out after remembering they had skipped dinner. Harry realized on the way out to the lake that throughout the month he had opted to go to the kitchens several times instead of eating at the Great Hall seeing as the majority of the students had treated him as if he was a disease before the first task where, not trying to be a smart-ass or cocky, he had blown all competition out of the water even if his scores hadn't reflected it.

Once they reached the tree by the lake Harry noticed that it was getting colder by the second and quickly pulled out his wand to cast a warming charm on the both of them. Daphne's cheeks tinged pink and she smiled shyly — it was an entirely new sensation having somebody apart from herself looking out for her wellbeing. "Thanks."

What was it about her that made him feel this way? Sometimes he thought he would pass out from the lack of air, and other times his heart started beating uncontrollably every time she was near. He made a mental not to ask Neville about it later in their room.

Daphne sat down and opened the small basket Cotton had given her. Harry still marvelled at what magic could do. The small elf had gone overboard and had filled a tiny basket with enough food to feed an army.

"I've been meaning to ask you…" Daphne said unsurely.

"Yeah?"

"Now that the first task's over, are you ready to meet the other members of the Blackthorns of Gray?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably when he realized he hadn't told her of the conversation he had with Sirius during Hogsmeade weekend. He wasn't sure he wanted Daphne to know about his godfather yet, but decided to tell her what he'd been told himself — simply omitting Sirius' name.

After he had finished his tale part of him regretted telling Daphne, and his remorse only grew when her eyes filled with unshed tears. "My father never mentioned how far they went. He just told me the greater part of the group were a bunch of cowards. Why would he hide this from me? He told me all about Mister Malfoy but he can't confide in his own daughter about how thing really went down during the war?"

"I don't think it would be something he would be proud of," Harry told her as he rubbed her back gently.

Her reaction alone left no doubt that she had actually been telling the truth about the secret society. Unless she was the greatest actress in the world her pain was genuine. "Maybe you're right, but still I should've known the truth."

"Now you know how I felt," he muttered under his breath.

"What?" She looked at him, brushing her fingers to clear the tears that managed to fall down her face.

"I said, now you know how it feels to be kept in the dark." Harry didn't know why he was so intent in taking it out on her, seeing as how it was _all_ of them that kept their plans a secret from him… but he just couldn't seem to help it. Her betrayal of his trust cut deeper than the others. He saw Daphne's eyes filling with tears again and felt a small pang of regret, but he didn't move to apologise or soften the blow; she needed to understand what she had done wrong. If they were going to work together during the tournament and she wanted to associate herself with him then things needed to change, they couldn't keep stuff like this from each other.

"I'm sorry," she whispered brokenly, "At the time it seemed like the right way to go."

Harry's heart melted at her forlorn expression. He placed an arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards him. She instantly wrapped her arms around his back and buried her head in the crook of his neck, sobbing quietly. Harry held her in his arms and started running his fingers through her soft hair, waiting for her to calm down.

They stayed in that position without saying a word until the warming charm wore off. When Daphne started shivering Harry suggested going back to the castle. Harry picked up the forgotten basket and held his hand to help Daphne stand. She took it gratefully and gave him a half smile. Her eyes were still a bit puffy but it seemed holding her had really helped calm her down.

Harry felt as if a small burden had been lifted from his shoulders. All he'd done was letting her know, albeit indirectly how someone could be hurt if they kept things from each other and yet he felt somewhat lighter.

On the way to their classroom they encountered several students, all giving them incredulous and surprised looks. Harry rolled his eyes, he was sure some of the same people had seen them walking around and now decided to notice they were in opposite houses. Once they reached the abandoned hallway Daphne took her wand out and unlocked the door. They went inside and Harry closed the door behind him. They sat in their usual places and Harry took the golden egg, turning it around several times searching for any sort of clue that would help him solve the puzzle.

"So after everything you heard from this former member, what do you want to do?"

Harry sighed. He wished she would let the matter drop at least for the day. Right now all he wanted to do was concentrate on his schoolwork and the damn tournament.

"I'm not sure. I'm not completely comfortable knowing that they bar muggleborns from joining."

Daphne huffed in exasperation. It appeared Harry only retained the information that he wanted, ignoring the rest.

"We already explained the reasons why they aren't allowed. Even when some members were prejudiced—" Harry cleared his throat.

"Alright, _are_ prejudiced against muggleborns, they aren't allowed because they lack political or financial standing."

"I know," he huffed, "You've repeated that part several times. But what if muggleborns tried to assimilate to wizarding traditions, how useful could a muggleborn be having all kinds of knowledge from the muggle world?"

"I do get your point and some of the members have brought up the same issue throughout the society's existence but since it has to be approved by vote, it always gets shot down."

She looked at her hands and then raised her eyes to look at him. "There have been instances when a handful of muggleborns have had great potential but as you see it was never approved."

Harry sighed taking of his glasses and rubbing his eyes tiredly with his thumb and forefinger.

"Look if it makes you feel better there are rumours about other 'secret groups' made exclusively of muggleborns or half-bloods around Hogwarts. The difference is the Blackthorns of Gray was founded before any other."

Daphne could give him a million and one explanations but it somewhat still made him uneasy. At the moment he didn't know a muggleborn who would be willing to acquire the knowledge necessary and on top of that deal with prejudiced students that were part of the club.

What ended swaying his decision though, was the possibility to have a group of people backing him in any and all capacity when the time came to face Voldemort.

"All right, when's the next meeting?"

Daphne cleared her throat smirking slightly. "Every month on the twenty-seventh."

Harry groaned; the next meeting was in two days' time. _Lovely_, he thought.

* * *

After leaving the classroom Harry headed towards Gryffindor Tower, all the while mulling over if he was indeed doing the right thing by joining the society. Sirius said he wasn't proud of the things he had done but that was during the war. He could learn all the things he needed to know about wizarding laws and its traditions without spending all his time researching in the library though he needed to check out several books out either way.

He stated the password and went in when the portrait door opened. He searched the common room for Neville, not finding him there he all but ran up the stairs. He burst through the door out of breath and saw that Neville wasn't alone.

"Hey Nev, can I talk you for a second?" Harry saw Ron's head pop up when he heard Harry's voice. "Alone?"

"Sure Harry."

They went outside the room and closed the door behind them. They climbed down several steps and stopped on the stairs between the third and fourth year dorms.

Harry punched Neville's arm lightly and all but hissed in a low tone of voice. "Why didn't you tell me this club of yours is meeting this Sunday?"

Neville shuffled nervously. "Well, uh… you see, I kind of forgot."

"That's it?" Harry said, his voice laced with incredulity.

"What did you want to hear, that I did it on purpose? That we wanted to hide things from you again?"

Harry backed away slightly. That hadn't really crossed his mind. "I wasn't accusing you of anything. I just… I don't know. A little heads up would've been nice."

Neville blushed. "Oh… sorry."

They started climbing up the stairs back to their room. "So where does the 'secret club' meet?"

Neville laughed and returned the punch Harry had given him a few moments ago. "I'll let you know on Sunday."

"Hey! Why can't I know now?"

Neville chuckled good-heartedly, "One word… payback!"

* * *

Sunday evening Neville led Harry down a long hallway he had never seen. The castle kept surprising him after years of wandering around. Even with the marauder's map there were still a lot of places he had yet to investigate, like this hallway apparently.

Harry was a complete ball of nerves. He had slept little to nothing the night before and all during the day he had gone from sitting in one of the armchairs in the common room attempting to do some homework, to pacing in front of the fireplace while Neville rolled his eyes at him in annoyance.

"Relax mate."

Harry jumped letting out a small yelp. He turned to glare at his friend. "Will you quit it? I'm sick of all this hush-hush thing you're doing."

Harry noticed there were no windows anywhere near and it was probably his imagination but he felt the hallway went on and on with no end in sight and seemed to be tilting downward.

"Neville?"

"Yeah?"

"Where the hell are we going?"

"We're almost there."

Harry huffed but kept walking beside his friend. "You said that ten minutes ago…"

"Aha! Here we are…" Neville found Harry wasn't following him. He turned around and saw Harry standing open-mouthed a few feet away.

Why did no one know about this place? The doorway looked like an entrance to a church. The thing was that walking down the long hallway it was completely invisible. It appeared out of thin air when he was standing almost in front of the door. Neville cleared his throat making Harry focus on his friend.

"Are you going to stand there all day?"

Harry closed his mouth and shook his head. Sometimes this new confidence thing Neville had going on made him want to smack him behind the head. Deep down he was actually proud of him.

Harry walked behind Neville and watched as he took out his wand and after a series of intricate movements the heavy wooden door made a whirling noise and clicked open.

Once they crossed the threshold Harry's eyes widened even further. The room was completely lit by candles. There were candles everywhere. All the half-light and shadows gave the room an eerie feel to it. Harry notices it had a vaulted ceiling and it was at least three stories high and there were several benches raised at different levels all made of polished wood, making it look like a trial house.

He nervously took all the room in. There were at least twenty people wearing dark cloaks that hid their faces sitting in the benches. Harry wondered where Daphne and Millicent were sitting. Even though the candles were lit, it was impossible to identify any of the students.

Neville pushed Harry slightly to stand in the centre of the room. When Harry turned to look at Neville he was already walking to one of the raised benches and putting a cloak like the others.

Harry gulped nervously. He didn't know why but he felt that he was in the middle of a trial. One of the cloaked figures cleared their throat and started speaking in a low tone of voice.

"Before we start the meeting we are going to initiate a new candidate to the Blackthorns of Gray."

Silence followed the statement. Harry shuffled from foot to foot still trying to figure out what was going to happen next. If only one of his friends would've told him about the process he wouldn't feel like he was waiting in line for his execution.

"Anyone opposed raise your hands."

Harry looked around and saw that no one was against him joining. He let out a sigh of relief.

"All in favour?"

It was unanimous. Harry imagined that now they would ask him to make the vow, and he wasn't wrong.

"Very well." the person who spoke and the one sitting beside him climbed down from the bench and came to a stop in front of him.

The person who spoke kneeled in front of Harry and extended his right arm. Harry did the same, just as Millicent had explained and took the cloaked figure's right hand.

The second student stood close to them and placed his wand on their linked hands.

"Will you, Harry Potter, guard the secrets and identities of the current members of the Blackthorns of Gray?"

"I will." After Harry spoke a thin stream of fire erupted from the wand and wrapped around their clasped hands.

"And will you abide by the guidelines set forth in the book of the Blackthorns of Gray?"

"I will."

"And will you submit yourself to have your memory erased of all knowledge concerning the fraternity if by any reason you wish to leave the Blackthorns of Gray before you graduate?"

"I will."

When the third stream left the wand and finished sinking into their hands the student standing beside Harry took a step back. The person in front of him stood up and pulled Harry to a standing position finally releasing his hand.

"As chairman of the Blackthorns of Gray and on behalf of the board, you Harry James Potter are welcome."

The rest of the students clapped and after a moment began taking of the cloaks when torches started igniting all around the walls, bathing the room in light. Harry wasn't surprised when he saw that the head boy was the one that performed the unbreakable vow and Roger Davis, the sixth year prefect from Ravenclaw was the bonder.

He recognized several older students but what came as a surprise was discovering that Lavender Brown and Hannah Abbott were members, as well as Terry Boot.

What he wasn't expecting was Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy to be there talking with Terry. His anxiousness disappeared only to be replaced with anger. He'd suspected they'd be part of the group seeing as their fathers' names were on the list of former members Daphne had showed him but he had probably blocked the possibility from his mind.

He was brought out of his mental tirade when someone patted his shoulder. Daphne stood right beside him also watching the two Slytherins.

"You did really well Harry!"

Harry turned to look at her and smirked. "Yeah, still thinking on getting my revenge for not telling me anything besides having to take the vow."

Daphne gulped and took a step away from him. "Wh-why would you take it out on me?"

Harry laughed with a hint of anger. "Well for one thing giving me the heads up on Malfoy would've been ideal."

"Did you just forget what the unbreakable vow stated?"

"Huh?" Harry scratched the back of his neck when it suddenly came to him. They couldn't give away the identity of current members. "Oh…"

"We really wanted to tell you but yeah… we literally couldn't…"

"It's alright, just as long as he stays far away from me…" Harry knew he had spoken too soon when a snooty voice interrupted him.

"How does it feel to be a part of the elite of the wizarding world, Potter?"

Harry sighed and turned around slowly to face Malfoy. All the other members stopped talking and focused on the impeding shouting match. After all, everyone at the school knew about the animosity between the Slytherin and the Gryffindor.

"Are you sure you can include yourself in that category?"

A few students sniggered making Malfoy's cheeks tinge pink. "How would you know, you don't know a thing about wizarding traditions with you being an orphan and all…"

Harry tried to lunge at Malfoy but Neville grabbed his arm stopping him completely while Daphne stood in front of him with her hands in his chest. "Harry calm down."

"Let me go!"

"Ooh!" Draco crooned, "Stopped by a girl, how embarrassing!"

Harry saw red. He lunged again and in the ensuing struggle he knocked Daphne to the floor. Several gasps were heard around the vast hall making Harry stop dead in his tracks, the fiery anger evaporating instantly.

Daphne looked at him with hurt shinning in her cerulean blue eyes. She stood up on her own brushing her skirt. "You know what? Go ahead! Tear each other apart!"

"Daphne I'm sorry…" Harry tried to approach her but she took several steps back shaking her head.

"You're behaving like a bunch of petulant children," she sighed crossing her arms over her chest. She gazed at Malfoy and her eyes hardened slightly, her voice began rising with each word, "And you! You should know better! You knew we were planning to induct Harry since third year!"

Both teens were looking everywhere but her in embarrassment. "We all know you don't like each other but you're going to suck it up and deal with it." She sighed and walked up to Draco. "Now apologize."

Malfoy shot a dirty look at Harry. "Why?"

"Because you started it!" Harry's scream interrupted Daphne. She turned to look at him and noticed he was fuming again, his wand pointed straight at Draco's chest. Draco squared his shoulders and took his own wand out.

"Bring it on Potter!"

"Gladly," Harry sneered before backing away from the blond teen. "A duel between men to finally show just who your oh-so-important elite is." Harry muttered _furnunculus _under his breath, the spell shot out of his wand and Malfoy shouted _protego _at the last second before the jinx hit after spell flew from their wands, lighting up the room with flashes of multicoloured light — the occasional one even hitting bystanders. Malfoy conjured up a snake intending to have it bite Harry, only for his plan to backfire when the raven-haired teen simply hissed at the snake in parseltongue and set it on its summoner.

Slowly the spells begun getting faster and more dangerous, and all taunting stopped; only steely determination and concentration set on their faces. No spells flew off-target anymore. While Draco had spent years practicing magic _before _Hogwarts however, Harry had the upper hand in regards power, reserves, and reflexes, and it wasn't long before the Malfoy scion began to get desperate. Harry had cornered him and clearly had the upper hand in the battle, and so he made a split-second decision and cast a lethal spell at nearly point-blank.

Harry heard the incantation and his eyes widened in shock and no small amount of desperation himself, and he simply allowed himself to fall back into instincts honed when fighting, or rather running, from Dudley. He leapt backwards and slammed into the ground with a thud before using his momentum to roll back onto his feet and cast two spells in less than a second; a _reducto _followed by a _protego. _If Draco was throwing around lethal spells then there was no way he was going to allow the spoiled little prick fire off another one_. _In Harry's mind it was totally justified as self-defense. A person is trying to kill me. Answer: kill or incapacitate them first.

Draco's eyes went wide in panic at the spell coming at him and he erected a hasty shield; a shield which proved to be grossly ineffective against the sheer power of Harry's spell. The blue light crashed through the barrier, but then, out of nowhere, another silver shield appeared — bending with the effort of dispersing the destructive spell, but succeeding all the same.

Harry, on the other hand, lost his concentration on holding his shield when he saw his spell absorbed by a barrier most certainly not of Draco's doing if the teen's shocked expression was anything to go by. He reacted a second too late to dodging the severing charm, and he cried out when he felt a line of fire tear up his right eye right after his glasses shattered under the force of the spell.

Daphne screamed Harry's name and ran towards the boy on the floor. She could hear Malfoy cursing in the background and several students moving around the room to help their fellow members who had fallen victim to some of the less accurate, but also less deadly spells at the beginning of the duel.

She kneeled in front of Harry, her eyes widening in shock when she saw the blood dripping in-between his fingers. "Are you alright?"

"Stay away from me…" he growled, glaring at her with his one uncovered eye, and he slapped away her hand before getting to his feet himself; blood splattering onto the floor at the sudden movement.

"But—"

"I saw you cast that last shield."

She tried to grab his arm but he pushed her away from him with his free hand, earning a frown from the blue-eyed Slytherin. "I'm sorry, but you could've killed him."

"And what he threw at me was a tickling charm? It was an _honour _duel, _Greengrass_," he hissed, making her wince and her eyes tear up slightly at the sheer anger in his voice. "I was taking back the honour he stole from me and mine. He's called my mother a mudblood more times than I can count. He even called her a mudblood _whore_ once.

"He's belittled me, spread rumours about me that have made me a complete social outcast, given interviews to reporters that have led to slander and the entirety of Wizarding Britain turning against me… he is the single root cause of most of the agony I endure during my school years." The anger in his voice was evident, and even students standing meters away flinched. He shook his head slightly and backed away from her, the hand covering his eye now covered with blood that was dripping and falling to the floor. Where he had stood now lay a crimson puddle. "Look just leave me alone."

He saw her face fall but didn't say anything else. He turned around, wincing slightly at the pain stabbing into his eye, and called Neville to help him walk to the infirmary since his vision was blurry with the lack of glasses. They endured their journey in silence with Neville guiding him gently by the arm. All the while Harry's anger kept bubbling just beneath the surface. Why would she defend Malfoy? And in an honour duel no less! Even if he was politically retarded it didn't mean he wasn't aware of things like that. It was a necessity being who he was to know about duels.

And so what if Malfoy ended up in the hospital wing?

"You shouldn't take it out on her…"

Harry shot Neville an incredulous look. "She got in the way! In _my _bloody honour duel!"

"She was looking out for yo—"

"I don't care, Neville. It's evident that when it comes down to me and Malfoy, she'll side with him."

"Mate, we're all on the same side."

"It appears that you might be wrong about that. And I'll never be friends with him," Harry stated firmly; his anger barely contained.

"No one said you had to… but you're both part of the same group and you'll have to learn to at least tolerate each other." Neville sighed dejectedly, he knew both Harry and Draco had taken things too far, but Harry was right: Daphne shouldn't have interfered — she had no right to do so. What was he going to do now to fix this whole mess up?

"Do I have to?" Harry exhaled loudly letting out a hiss when he moved his hand slightly over the injury.

"He's not going to quit the Blackthorns, and neither are you."

"I'll think about it." It was clear that Harry didn't want to talk about it any longer and Neville decided to change the subject.

"Well now that you damaged your glasses beyond repair maybe you'll take the potion to fix your eyes."

"Yeah, if Madam Pomfrey manages to fix my eye first." The severing hex had shattered his glasses and left a wound that ran vertically across his right eye, and if the pain that felt like knives being stabbed repeatedly _into _his eye was anything to go by then the glass shards had done a little more than cause a mere flesh wound. Harry postulated that it was because of all the adrenaline that he didn't feel too much pain, at least if he didn't move his hand and aggravate what lay beneath. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the state of his eye.

They arrived at the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey immediately pushed him down on one of the beds. "What on earth happened now Mr. Potter?"

"I uh… we…" his mind came up blank. It was probably the vow kicking in so he couldn't divulge anything concerning the secret society.

"I was helping Harry practice for the second task and I accidentally hit him with a severing charm."

Harry shot Neville a grateful look, knowing it would be impossible to explain what really happened. Harry knew Neville was right, logically at least, but why did he have to play nice with Malfoy? And Daphne… the small amount of trust that she had regained after the first task had banished with her actions a few moments ago, with the pain of his wound as a constant reminder of her further betrayal.

"Was everyone else alright?" Harry whispered when the matron went to get a couple of potions.

"I don't know, I was lucky enough to get out of the way, I'm not so sure about the others."

Harry nodded. He knew they had taken it too far this time and with no teachers around to officiate the duel, let alone stop it, they had probably gotten other students injured as well. He made a mental note to apologize to the other members of the society once Madam Pomfrey mended his eye.

* * *

Malfoy's severing charm hadn't done the most damage; it was the shattering of the glass that had really made a hack job. The flesh wound was not really a problem and would leave only a thin scar in its wake… but it was a scar nonetheless. His eye had been a little bit more of a problem. Shards of glass, as he had suspected, were lodged deep into his eyeball – thankfully reasonably few in number or else, as Madam Pomfrey had put it, "I'd be trying to repair an eyeball from a slushy – don't give me that look, not all of us witches and wizards are completely Muggle retarded." As it was however, it'd take at least a week before he could uncover his eye, and another couple on top of that before he'd have it back to normal. Harry wasn't thrilled with the outcome, but it _was_ better than losing an eye because of the duel.

Madam Pomfrey had ordered him to stay in the Hospital Wing overnight for observation despite his attempts to convince her to let him go. If there was one thing Harry was it was 'stubborn'. If there was one thing that Madam Pomfrey was it was 'even stubborn than him'.

"Mr. Potter, where are your glasses so I can mend them for you."

"I don't know — I'm pretty sure what's left of them are in the room we were practicing in… but I probably won't need them." At her questioning look he explained, "Neville told me there is a potion to fix my eyesight."

"Why would you want to do that now, after all these years? The Headmaster said that he talked to you back in your first year. I suggested fixing your eyes and he said that you told him that you were pretty attached to those glasses; said you told him it made you look like your father."

Harry's anger exploded. "When he asked me?! He never said anything; in fact I didn't know I could get my eyes fixed even a bloody little bit!" he ranted heatedly. "Why would I want to be half blind when a simple potion could fix the problem?!"

"Mr. Potter, there will be no screaming here!"

"Whatever…" he grumbled sourly. "Can you give me the potion?"

"Let me see if I have some in the storage room. And for all its worth, I'm sorry I didn't ask you myself… it's just… well, why would the Headmaster lie about something like that?"

Harry nodded in agreement, still thinking about the Headmaster. What was he up to? First there was the lie he told Hermione, then Sirius telling him not to trust the old man and now this. There had to be a way to find out what the Headmaster was planning.

Madam Pomfrey came back carrying a set of vials and placed them on the table beside his bed. She made him swallow the bitter tasting potion and told him it would take a few days for it to work completely, and that it would speed up the recovery of his eye so that he could begin the course of potions to make his vision 20/20. Of course taking the potion while healing his eye meant that it would take nigh on two weeks before he could use it again in even the simplest capacity.

When he weighed up his choices he decided that having that little bit extra in a fight could come in very, very handy, and he considered the second task a fight.

Before he went to sleep he asked the matron if she could send away anybody that wanted to talk to him before he was released — even if it was Professor Dumbledore, especially Dumbledore in fact. The medi-witch seemed to understand and had agreed, taking note that the only people in to see him before that point were Neville and Millicent.

If there was one thing he knew it was that he had no intentions of talking to the Headmaster or hear Daphne apologize her way out of defending Malfoy and trying to explain the reasons why she did what she did. He fell into a fitful sleep still wondering what to do with the new problem.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: All characters, places, and anything familiar from the Harry Potter books and movies belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros.**

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update but I had a busy month. Thanks to my wonderful beta KennethRose who also had a lot of stuff to deal with and still managed to get the chapter out. Also thanks to all the people who read, reviewed, followed and favorited the story. Hope everyone enjoys the long chapter!**

* * *

_**Chapter 9**_

Daphne was lying in her four-poster bed several days after the incident at Harry's induction to the Blackthorns of Gray. She still didn't know what had come over her that day. She knew she shouldn't have interfered with the duel between Harry and Draco, but all of her instincts had shouted to cast the shield that protected Malfoy from what she was sure would have been certain death. In her head she figured Harry could take care of himself, especially if his duelling prowess during the duel was anything to go by. It was glaringly obvious to everyone present in fact, that Harry had the upper hand. Draco was barely able to keep up with him even with years of training under his belt.

She didn't regret saving Draco by any means. She was sure it would've ended with Harry locked in Azkaban, even if it was an honour duel. An honour duel without any officials to mediate, and with the secrecy vow in place, it would've been impossible for any of them to explain why the two students had been fighting in the first place.

She felt a sharp pain tug in her chest just thinking about Harry's betrayed look when she had tried to help him. It had all gone so wrong the second she cast that shield. She hadn't expected Harry to thank her for interfering but outright lashing out at her was a complete and unwelcome surprise.

She sighed and rolled around in her bed, still unable to sleep. She had tried to visit the Hospital Wing several times since Harry had been admitted but the matron had outright refused to let her in stating her patient needed his rest. She knew Madam Pomfrey was lying because she had spotted Neville coming out the next day with Millicent. The pain intensified in her chest at the memory. She had given several notes to the pair and it was highly probable that Harry hadn't even read them. What in the world could she say to make Harry listen to her reasons for defending Draco?

A million ideas cluttered her tired mind. Along with her new problem with Harry she now had to deal with the issue of her father and the secret society. Why hadn't he told her the truth, or her mother for that matter seeing as she was also part of the Blackthorns of Gray during the war? Daphne knew after leaving Hogwarts the vow became void and a new one was placed during the last meeting of the year by one of the former members so no one would betray them and their secrets to anyone who wasn't trustworthy, but when she became a part of the society they could have told her the truth. She finally fell into a restless sleep after several hours of tossing and turning; trying in vain to get comfortable.

She managed to sleep a couple of hours before Pansy woke her up the next morning. Both Pansy and Millicent knew how torn Daphne was with being denied entry to the Hospital Wing and decided to let her sleep a little while longer while the rest got ready for the day.

Daphne thanked Pansy and got up. Her body ached all over. She knew the stress of the situation wasn't helping any and the few measly hours of sleep she managed to get only made her feel more tired. She headed for the shower and turned on the hot water. In the back of her mind she knew she had to hurry if she wanted to have some breakfast but her appetite had all but vanished since the meeting, so she decided to take her time to try and work the kinks out of her exhausted body.

Once she got out of the shower she looked at herself in the foggy mirror. There were dark circles under her eyes again and her face was devoid of any colour; her cerulean blue eyes dimed to the point that made her look like a walking corpse. She knew she had brought this down on herself. Daphne cursed under her breath again for interfering in the duel. It had shocked her when Pansy had chastised her for casting the shield right after Harry and Neville left the room. Pansy was the last person she'd expect to feel that way seeing as the object of her affection would have likely been dead by now if she hadn't interfered. Everyone else had been either shocked or fascinated by the sheer display of power both teens had exuded to try and stop the fight.

All of them knew how important an honour duel was but it wasn't really an official duel since they were all a bunch of underage students. But the thought of the Ministry locking Harry up in a cell for the rest of his life made her body shudder. If he decided to never forgive her or speak to her again over this it would be well worth it for his freedom.

Daphne finished dressing and headed back to the room she shared with the other Slytherin fourth years. She found the room already empty and sighed dejectedly. All she wanted to do was head to the infirmary and try to apologize to Harry again. But even that was impossible since she couldn't even get past the Hospital Wing's doors.

She grabbed her schoolbag checking she had everything she needed before walking down the stairs to the common room. It was empty, as she'd expected. Everyone was probably at the Great Hall by now and she was already running late for breakfast.

Daphne sat down gracelessly in one of the plush black leather armchairs in front of the fireplace. She contemplated skipping all her classes but surely one of her schoolmates would come looking for her after missing the first class. She closed her eyes wondering what she should do when she heard steps coming down from one of the staircases. She decided to ignore whoever was also late.

"Aren't you going to the Great Hall for breakfast?"

Daphne's eyes snapped open when the person addressed her. What was he still doing here?

"What do you want Draco?" she responded tiredly. She hadn't even bothered to cover the dark circles under her eyes with makeup; she was surely a frightening sight at the moment.

Draco shrugged and sat in the chair besides the one she was sitting. "Look, I wanted to… uh thank you…"

Daphne raised a curious eyebrow but said nothing waiting for him to finish whatever he was struggling to say.

Draco huffed when she didn't speak and shook his head in exasperation. "I wanted to thank you for what you did during the meeting last Sunday even when it wasn't your place to interfere."

Daphne rolled her eyes and leaned forward so her elbows rested on her knees. "I didn't do it for you; you probably deserved whatever the curse would've done but Harry shouldn't pay for your immaturity…"

She watched as Draco's face turned a slight pink. "Why do I have to be nice to him? Isn't it enough that I agreed to tone the insults down and didn't vote against him joining the Blackthorns?"

Daphne huffed, "Do you really want me to answer that? And when did you ever tone things down?"

Draco actually looked thoughtful for a moment before he shook his head and gave her a slight smirk. "Well for whatever reason you decided to cast that shield, I just wanted to thank you."

Daphne leaned back in the armchair and eyed the blond haired boy. "You shouldn't be thanking me, you should go and apologize to Harry."

She knew that both boys needed to at least abstain from fighting each other every time they met with the Blackthorns or it would be a total nightmare every time there was a meeting.

"Why should I?" The petulant tone was back in his voice.

She wondered why he acted the way he did. She knew he was clever and was a good duellist but his mouth always got in the way and often got him into trouble. When they were alone in their common room with no other witnesses around but their friends or during the meetings with the Blackthorns he was actually tolerable, but to everyone else he was a bully and a jerk; always going out of his way to antagonize Harry or any Gryffindors he knew were friends with Harry that crossed his path… all for something that happened back in first year. '_Talk about holding grudges'_ she thought with derision. Both Draco and Harry had to grow up one way or another if they didn't want to lose the probable upcoming war.

"Wasn't it something along those lines that got us into this mess to begin with?"

Draco shrugged. "I will admit and only if you promise this stays between us," once Daphne nodded he continued, "During the duel I realized how much I underestimated him and this with Potter not having proper training… I don't want to imagine what will happen once he does."

"Well at least you can admit he's better than you."

"I never said that!"

Daphne let out a soft laugh. "Oh but you lost the duel, even if I interfered and it _saved_ your life…" she left the words hanging, if Draco was as smart as she thought he was, he would catch on pretty quickly what she was hinting at. He most certainly owed her a favour. It wasn't a life debt by any means but he did owe her something, as a pureblood he was honour bound to do so.

She saw his eyes widen before he spoke, "Father's going to kill me!" he covered his face with his hands and leaned back in the chair.

"You know as well as I that he won't be happy about it, but he'll be relieved that it's me that you owe instead of some random student who would surely try to take advantage of the situation."

He looked at her with a hint of amusement in his silver-grey eyes. "Still going to kill me…"

"If only your father knew all the havoc you wreak at school…" she shook her head and tsked at him. She stood up picking her bag from the floor.

"I'm going to say it again, go and apologize to Harry, it will be better for all of us on the long run." Daphne gave him a pointed look. "And if you didn't catch the hint, this is me calling said favour!" she called back as she stepped out of the common room leaving a thoughtful Draco on her wake.

* * *

Draco decided to skip breakfast. He gazed at the dying embers in the fireplace thinking about what Daphne had said. It made a lot of sense but why did he have to apologize? Surely one way or another they would've ended duelling; he had been dancing around the idea since that time in first year when he challenged Potter. If only Professor Snape hadn't caught them sneaking out the common room forcing them to tell the truth and calling out Filch to find the other students.

Potter thought he had tattled and tried to get him in trouble and he hadn't bothered to correct him, but the truth was they both needed to settle their dispute somehow and with him being raised with pureblood traditions he knew that a duel was the right way to go.

He knew that holding a grudge against his 'nemesis' was a bit childish but Potter had trampled his pride when he sided with the blood-traitor before the sorting and in front of other students no less. If only he knew back then that Potter was completely clueless about anything concerning wizarding history and customs he might have taken a different route.

After that he went out of his way to fuel Potters anger by insulting him and his stupid friends. It was so easy to rile him up with a well-placed comment and as time went on he found it to be almost enjoyable to watch what the brash Gryffindor would come up with next.

Draco decided to go to the Hospital Wing to get the favour he owed Daphne out of the way. He grabbed his schoolbag and headed out the common room. There had to be a way for him to approach Potter without making Madam Pomfrey suspicious of him.

He had overheard Millicent telling Pansy how no one was allowed to visit Potter except for her and Longbottom. He could fake a headache or something to get in but that would likely lead to him having to swallow one of the matron's unsavoury concoctions. The easiest way was to cast something on himself that required a visit to the Hospital Wing so Madam Pomfrey could perform the counter-curse, but he wasn't too keen on harming himself. Maybe just changing the colour of his hair would work.

He walked silently down the empty stone corridors until he was standing in front of the infirmary doors and then pulled out his wand and took a deep breath. He whispered the spell and changed his blond hair to a bright ugly orange. If push came to shove Draco could easily blame one of the Weasleys for the mess and Madam Pomfrey would eat it all up knowing of the long-standing animosity between the two families.

He walked through the doorway and a moment later, as expected Madam Pomfrey came bustling out of her office asking him what had happened to his hair.

"I didn't see who it was but they did this to my hair, you need to fix it now!" Draco rolled his eyes practically shouting in his perfected petulant tone.

The matron huffed indignantly and went to her storage room in search for a potion. He cringed slightly, '_now I've done it_.' He had expected for her to just cast the counter-curse and be done with it but it seemed the woman depended way too much on her potions.

Draco looked around the room and spotted the bed Potter was occupying. It was partially covered by a white curtain. The matron came back and handed him a vial with a suspiciously murky looking liquid in it. '_Forget owing Daphne a favour, after this she'll owe me big time',_ he thought as he tipped the vial and swallowed the bitter tasting liquid gagging slightly.

Madam Pomfrey gave him a satisfied nod once he set the empty vial on one of the tables and told him he could leave once the potion took effect. She went back to her office without saying another word, which gave Draco the opportunity he was looking for. She hadn't really inquired further about his 'attacker' or anything that would lead to him having to lie to her face, and that was all good in his book.

He made sure the matron wasn't coming back before silently approaching Potter's bed. He pulled the curtain aside and cleared his throat. He was taken aback slightly when he saw the Gryffindor wearing a patch over his right eye. Surely the matron could mend a flesh wound almost instantly, however that begged the question of why Potter had been kept in the Hospital Wing for over a week… but Draco had dismissed it quickly once he heard Harry was fine. His current condition however, suggested otherwise. It would bear looking into later.

When Harry saw who had come to disturb him his uncovered green eye hardened. Draco could see that he was still incredibly angry with him. As if Potter could feel anything besides animosity towards him…

"What do you want Malfoy?"

"You know, going from a four-eyes to a Cyclops actually suits you…" Draco knew he shouldn't be antagonizing Potter further but old habits tended to die hard.

"And you're one to talk, nice hair by the way. Bright orange is definitely not your colour," Harry smirked at Draco.

"At least its better than being nicknamed the one-eyed monster!"

"You got some nerve coming here to insult me," Harry's voice was getting rougher by the second, "since it's your fault I'm here in the first place!"

Draco snorted. "I'll admit that I riled you up on purpose but you took the bait all on your own, as always, and let your temper get the best of you."

Harry gave him a small glare but oddly enough refrained from saying anything to refute Draco's statement.

"You do know that getting you to lose it is part of the fun." Harry rolled his uninjured eye at him. Draco ignored it and continued, "You make it so easy for anyone to make you angry and that will only lead you to make mistakes."

"What's all this? Who died and made you the right person to try and teach me a lesson in controlling my temper?"

"Well you could say that if it wasn't for Daphne I wouldn't be alive to grant some of my useful advice." Draco was trying to make light of the situation but the angry teen in the hospital bed was making it all but impossible.

Harry crossed his arms over his chest and snorted. "I don't know what sick game you're playing at but you better leave now Malfoy or I'll call Madam Pomfrey so she can kick you out."

Draco raised his hands in a sign of surrender. "Look, I just came here to sort of extend a white flag," he said avoiding looking at Harry's face. "I'm trying to be the bigger person here and accept I lost the duel."

Harry shook his head. "You have a really weird way of showing it."

"What did you expect? That I would have a change of heart and we would suddenly become best mates after years of being enemies?"

"I wasn't actually expecting anything except for you to continue being a pain in the arse," Harry smirked lightly.

"Well we both know I can continue goading you every time we cross paths if that's what you really want."

"It would actually be nice not having you harass me every time we see each other."

"Harass is such a strong word Potter, I like to think of it as my daily dose of entertainment."

"Look, what do you really want? As fun as this is I don't plan on being friends with you anytime in the near future… if ever." Draco could hear the sarcasm dripping from Potter's tone.

Draco snorted, "Who said I wanted to be friends?"

Harry gave him a pointed look. "Do you want me to remind you that you were the one that offered his hand in friendship back in first year?"

Draco's cheeks tinged a slight pink. That moment had marked what could've been something they would have both benefited from but he knew it was impossible to go back in time and change things, not that he wanted to be friends with Potter now anyway, but maybe being somewhat civil on the occasions when they were forced into the same room couldn't hurt.

"Well that went out the window when you chose to befriend the blood-traitor but to each his own…" Draco smirked at Harry when his face flushed with repressed anger. At least Potter wasn't screaming his head off which meant that a little of what he said about his temper had gotten through to him. "The best I can offer is acting as if the other doesn't exist when we're at the meetings. No more goading and no more insults."

Harry gave him a sceptical look. Draco knew even he'd have a hard time believing it if their positions were reversed. After years of fighting he was suddenly dropping it in exchange of a small amount of civility? "Let's put it this way, if I ever go back on my word I'll give you free range to open fire, sort to speak."

"I'll think about it." Harry said after a moment.

Draco nodded and took a step back. "For what it's worth I completely underestimated you during the duel. You won fair and square, even if I had outside help at the end."

Harry nodded his head slightly. Draco turned around and walked towards the door. He checked his reflection in a small mirror that was by the entrance to make sure his hair was back to being blond and left closing the door behind him. It had gone so much better than he had expected; he had imagined Potter throwing curses at him for daring to approach him or something just as nasty. Maybe with time they would learn to get past all the animosity.

He snorted softly and shook his head after a moment's thought: it even sounded ridiculous in his head.

Draco looked at his watch and saw that he only had minutes to get to his Care of Magical Creatures class, and quickened his step. He thought about dropping it at the end of last year but his mother had convinced him to stick with it, stating that knowing about certain type of animals could come in handy in the future. If only she knew what they learned during that class… it was laughable at best.

When he rounded the corner he collided with another student and out of instinct his hands shot out to steady the other person. Unfortunately the person's schoolbag wasn't so lucky and all its contents came tumbling down.

"Watch where you're going!" he said with exasperation. If he didn't hurry he'd be late for another class and he didn't want it to get back to his father that he was skipping.

"I was watching where I was going," the blonde girl huffed. "You're the one that wasn't looking!" Draco rolled his eyes. Of course he had to almost trample a Gryffindor. He watched as Lavender Brown kneeled to gather the contents of her schoolbag that had poured out when they collided.

He huffed once more and without saying a word kneeled beside her and helped gather her scattered belongings. "I can manage fine on my own."

"I know." Draco smirked at her. "Just say thank you and we'll call it even."

"How is that calling it even?" Lavender's curious hazel eyes watched his every move. He finished gathering her things and gave them to her. Draco stood up and brushed his trousers.

"I nearly trampled you and then helped pick your things up…"

"Oh, well… at least you're accepting it was your fault," she blushed, gulping loudly. "Thanks."

Draco shook his head and continued walking down the hall without saying another word. Normally he would have screamed and insulted anyone from Gryffindor House but seeing as Lavender was also part of the Blackthorns of Gray they treated each other with indifference and stayed out of each other's way when they were in the same place outside of the meetings. He glanced at his watch again and upon noticing that he now had even less time than he'd anticipated, hurried his step. If he ran he would probably arrive with a few minutes to spare.

* * *

Lavender let out a sigh of relief once she made sure no one had seen the encounter between her and Draco. Outside the meetings they never talked, not even to insult each other, so this little bump had left her more than a little flustered.

The Blackthorns of Gray had approached her during the beginning of her third year and she had been reluctant to join when they explained what the club was all about. She wasn't really interested in politics and their ideals to better the wizarding community, despite her family coming from a long line of purebloods. The secret society was a little…intense for her taste.

The Browns were known for taking high-ranking jobs at the Ministry and had several seats in the Wizengamot dated as far back as when it was still known as the Wizards' Council, so she was a prefect candidate for their little club. Lavender had weighted the pros and cons of joining the Blackthorns. With all the secrecy it wouldn't be any fun considering that more than half the school though of her as the Gossip Queen. When Hannah Abbott showed her the list of former members she was shocked to find her father's name written in red ink along with several other known purebloods. That alone outweighed all her cons.

She was made an official member three months into the school year. And up until the last meeting things had been really boring. All they ever did was discuss the same topics over and over again. She didn't understand the fascination some of the members had with outdated laws and customs, but she somewhat felt closer to her father just by being a member of the same club he had been during the years he had attended Hogwarts — and that was something she treasured immensely.

Marcus Brown had been ambushed and killed on his way out of the Ministry one evening. At the time the public in general was still celebrating the fall of the Dark Lord and her father's murder had gone almost completely unnoticed.

Her mother had tried to appeal to the Ministry, demanding justice, but with several members having recently been exposed as Death Eaters the rest of the Wizengamot was running around like headless chickens with all the rushed hearings and sentences. It had been utter chaos for several months… and her father's case was all but dismissed.

Lavender was an only child but thank Merlin she wasn't the last of the line. There were still several Browns in Britain and the responsibility to take one of the ministry jobs and the seats in the Wizengamot weren't hers to deal with if she didn't want them.

The Blackthorns were making all things involving politics even more dull for her than what she already thought. She had considered approaching the chairman several times to wipe her mind of any knowledge so she could quit the club, but Hannah had convinced her to hold on a bit longer, and during the last couple of meetings things had gone from dead boring to very interesting.

It all started when Daphne Greengrass had approached her with the idea of inducting Harry Potter a few months before the end of their third year. Lavender had been excited since she was the only member from Gryffindor house in her year, and it surprised her when Neville Longbottom made the vow back in September. It hadn't been discussed with the other members but since he came from a long line of purebloods, and that that particular line was one of the oldest families in Britain was a no brainer. Although Neville still had a long way to go when it came down to confidence he was finally starting to become comfortable in his own skin.

Then all hell broke loose when Harry's name came out of the goblet during the Halloween Feast. She didn't know Harry well enough so she didn't know for sure at that point whether he had actually put his name in the goblet… however she was inclined to believe from what she had seen from Harry throughout the years that there was something fishy going on with the tournament. Still she hadn't said anything.

It didn't help that her best friend and roommate Parvati Patil had sided with the rest of the school, and Lavender admitted to herself that she felt ashamed that she hadn't even stood up to her own friend concerning her thoughts on the fourth champion.

An emergency meeting had been called several days later to discuss the implications of someone actually tampering with the goblet, and both Daphne and Neville had insisted that Harry was innocent. Draco had been very clear and vocal about Harry's incessant need to be in the spotlight but was later convinced that it was impossible for a fourth year to mess with the goblet. Adding Harry's lack of knowledge only reinforced the idea. Draco had reluctantly agreed to tone down the insults but not to stop completely.

Daphne had convinced the members to let her talk to Harry about the club after the first task but another emergency meeting was called when she decided to reveal everything to Harry before the task. The rest of the members agreed to induct Harry during the next official meeting.

There had been those two extra meetings in just under a month when it was practically unheard of doing so before. There was only one emergency meeting called during their third year when Sirius Black broke into the school grounds. Some of the students were almost completely sure that Mr Black was innocent since he was imprisoned without a trial and part of the vow that was applied when they graduated stated that you couldn't betray other members and their secrets. Still their hands were tied since none of them could reveal anything either.

Lavender's hazel eyes widened when she noticed the time and realized she had been standing there staring at nothing for a while, and was now late for Care of Magical Creatures class. She stuffed the rest of her things in her schoolbag and all but ran to meet Parvati.

"Where have you been?" Parvati's voice reached her before she was even through the doors that led outside the castle.

"Sorry I'm late, I lost track of time checking that my makeup looked fresh after Herbology class let out." she said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "I have to look my best if I want to get a date for the Yule Ball."

"If Hagrid gives us detention for being late it'll be your fault!" her friend practically spat as she started walking faster.

Lavender rolled her eyes but hurried her step to match Parvati's. Sometimes all she wanted was to wring her friend's neck to keep her from snapping at her. Lately they had been at odds and she didn't know what had Parvati so upset.

"So who do you want to go the ball with?" Lavender gave Parvati a sceptical look. First she snapped at her and now she was all gossipy? _Talk about hot and cold_.

"I still don't know, I mean they only announced it last Tuesday."

Parvati nodded. "You're right, still I don't want to be asked at the last moment, that would be really embarrassing."

They stopped talking when they arrived. Hagrid eyed them disapprovingly but abstained from singling them out. Both Lavender and Parvati took their seats near the other Gryffindors and waited for Hagrid to start the class. Ten minutes later they were divided into groups of two and tasked with watching over the Blast-Ended Skrewts, _again_.

They had started this project back in September and every time they came back there was at least one less Skrewt to deal with, which was a relief in Lavender's opinion. They were ugly little things and quite impossible to get close enough to examine. She didn't know why she still took the class when she wasn't remotely interested, but she had to admit it was an easy class considering Hagrid tried to be impartial but always ended up favouring the Gryffindors.

She and Parvati stood close to one of the pens containing the magical creatures and Parvati started talking in hushed tones. There was nothing new to learn about these beasts. They had yet to find out what they ate but their increasing size meant they were feeding off something, and that meant that they wouldn't starve if they didn't discover their food source soon, so they didn't even bother taking out their quills and parchments to take notes.

After a while Lavender tuned out Parvati's idle chatter in favour of observing the rest of the students in their class. Harry was still in the Hospital Wing treating the wounds from the duel and she'd thought that by now he would've been completely healed and released.

It still surprised her how he had gone through so much and still managed to leave people speechless, just this year alone there was the task against the dragons and a few days later the display of sheer power during the duel. If she didn't know any better she'd think that Harry spent most of his time learning about duels and stuff like that and… come to think of it, that was probably true ever since the whole goblet fiasco had started.

Lavender was unsure whether it would be a good idea to approach Harry and apologize. The small pang of guilt came back when she remembered how she had stayed silent when his own friends accused him of being a liar and a cheat. Most of the house had stayed silent; in reality it wasn't their fight and if anyone knew Harry better it would be those two. Still, she had known it wasn't right and did nothing to stop it.

She had noticed that the rest of the students had started giving both Hermione and Ron a wide berth after the first task. People were starting to realize that Harry was innocent in all this and were trying in their own twisted way to make amends.

Lavender had discussed with Hannah several times the weirdness of both Ron and Hermione turning their backs on Harry. She had to admit that in Ron's case it was probably only a matter of time, she had wondered not for the first time why a Potter would ever be friends with a Weasley. It had taken some time for her to figure out that Harry had been raised as a muggleborn and knew nothing about the wizarding world. Lavender wasn't an idiot but Harry had latched to both Ron and Hermione from the very beginning and almost never talked to anyone else making it impossible to get to know him with those two always by his side.

What had shocked Lavender and Hannah was Hermione's behaviour. She wasn't their favourite person; hell Lavender didn't like her at all. She was a pain to live with and Hermione always looked down on everyone, especially her just because she often tended to leave her homework for the last minute in favour of doing anything else, but accusing your own friend of several years of being a liar was low. Hermione always prided herself on knowing everything. It seemed that recently she had gotten things completely wrong.

She thought about telling Parvati all her suspicions but lately she hadn't felt very comfortable around her friend. Lavender eyed Parvati carefully as she continued talking without a care in the world. She looked around once more and spotted Neville taking notes beside Millicent Bulstrode.

Lavender knew they were both members of the Blackthorns but to actually be friends outside of the club was insane. The rivalry between their houses was legendary and aside from the initial shock most students had started ignoring the fact that Neville and Harry were friends with Daphne and Millicent. '_Well, they started noticing again after the first task'_ she thought wearily. People here were like the sea; the tide could change at any moment.

'_It shouldn't be a problem anymore'_ she thought sadly. People weren't actually interested in who Neville was friends with but Harry's friends, on the other hand, would be scrutinized and gossiped about now that most of the students thought he was innocent again, and associating with Slytherins was the last thing the majority of students would approve of.

She felt really sorry for Daphne; Lavender actually liked the raven-haired Slytherin girl but she was with Neville on the matter of the duel, she shouldn't have cast that shield. She didn't have anything against Draco: he was usually a pain in the arse, but during the meetings he was actually tolerable, and he didn't deserve to die for something so childish even when it was his own fault, but he had brought that entirely upon himself. He had made his bed, and in Lavender's opinion he now had to lay in it.

Neville had approached her when he arrived at the common room after leaving the Hospital Wing the day of the duel. They had talked briefly but even the short conversation was enough for her to gather that Harry was really mad with how things had turned out. Neville was torn between his cousin and his friend, and so Lavender had advised him to just go with the flow and avoid picking sides; sooner or later Harry and Daphne would have to talk it out if they were both going to be part of the Blackthorns.

Lavender turned back to her friend and noticed that Parvati was still talking; something about who she thought should invite her to the Yule Ball. Lavender sighed. "Will you hold that thought? I need to talk to Neville for a second."

Parvati nodded, her mouth slightly open in shock. Lavender had never interrupted her when they were talking about boys before, but there was clearly a first time for everything.

Lavender walked towards Neville and tapped her fingers on his shoulder lightly. He stopped writing and turned his head around slowly raising a curious eyebrow when he saw it was her. She nodded her head pointing to a spot where they could talk more comfortably without half the class eavesdropping.

Once they reached the tree Neville opened his arms and gave her a slight smirk. "What can I do for you?"

"You funny man…" Lavender giggled and rolled her eyes, Confident-Neville was much more fun than the insecure little boy he had been before. "I just wanted to ask how Harry was doing since he missed classes again today."

"He'll probably be there for a few days longer or until Madam Pomfrey's satisfied with Harry's health." Neville shook his head slightly looking around to make sure no one was listening to their conversation.

"What's taking so long anyway? I thought you said it was just a flesh wound."

"Why don't you ask him yourself?"

Lavender narrowed her eyes. "You know as well as I that Madam Pomfrey isn't letting anyone in besides you and Millicent."

"Well then you'll have to wait until his discharged to ask him if you're really that curious."

Lavender huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Hannah told her that Daphne had tried to visit Harry every day since he was admitted but wasn't allowed in, nobody was.

"Well can you at least tell him that I hope he feels better?"

Neville raised both eyebrows in surprise. She knew it was weird to start asking about him now after Harry had already spent a little over a week in the Hospital Wing. She had to admit she was curious and a little nervous not knowing the reason of his continuous stay.

When Neville stayed silent she snapped, "Well?"

"Sure." Neville flushed pink. "I'll let him know."

Lavender gave him a satisfied nod and went back to Parvati who was still eyeing her with curiosity.

"What did you wanted to tell Neville?"

"Oh, nothing important. I just asked to borrow his notes about the Skrewts," Lavender shrugged.

Parvati gave her a sceptical look but didn't bring the topic up again, instead she went on and on again about the Yule Ball. Lavender sighed quietly; '_this is going to be a long day_.'

* * *

Neville finished doodling on his parchment. Finally Care of Magical Creatures was over, and while he actually liked the class he _was_ finding it difficult to stay focused on the project Hagrid had assigned them with the damnable red lobster things blasting fire out their rear ends every couple of minutes. He packed his stuff and told Millicent he'd see her during Divination after lunch.

He had promised Harry he'd visit him during the break and Neville was actually hoping to convince Madam Pomfrey to let Harry go since he was doing so much better than expected.

Neville walked all the way to the Hospital Wing in silence. He encountered few students since the infirmary wasn't anywhere near the classrooms, much to his relief. He'd already been interrogated and harassed by practically the entire school about Harry to last him a lifetime. Once outside the Hospital Wing he pulled the heavy wooden doors open and walked in.

He wasn't surprised to find Harry pacing distractedly beside his bed. By now Harry would be desperate to get the hell out of his, as he liked to call it, prison of doom — because, according to the green eyed youth himself, if he was stuck in the wing for more than two days then he knew he was fucked. But Madam Pomfrey was way more stubborn than Neville's friend. Speaking of said witch, Neville noticed that there wasn't any sign of the bustling matron and assumed she was probably having lunch.

"Hey mate, how's the eye?"

Harry jumped slightly. "Don't sneak up on me…" he trailed of when he saw a red faced Neville trying to contain his laughter. Harry crossed his arms over his chest. "What's so funny?"

Neville shook his head still trying to contain his laughter. "Sorry, it's just you're acting like a caged animal, you're even jumpy too!"

It appeared Harry wasn't in the same wavelength as Neville at the moment because he didn't even crack a small smile. Neville sighed and rolled his eyes, '_Way to kill my good mood Harry_.'

"Anyway Lavender asked me to tell you that she hopes you feel better."

Harry's shocked expression made Neville turn red again. Yes it was a bit strange, but then again Harry was now a member of the Blackthorns and they normally tended to protect each other, with the exception of Draco during Harry's duel that is.

"Oookay… tell her I said thanks?" Harry shook his head and sat down in the chair beside his bed. Neville walked over and sat in front of his friend.

"You never answered my question," Neville said proddingly, eyeing his friend's expression curiously. It seemed that he had improved a hell of a lot since the week had begun; he had more colour in his face, his uncovered eye was less angry, and the persistent frown had dampened a little.

"What question?" Harry gave Neville a confused look.

"How's the eye?"

"Oh, great I guess…" Harry touched his covered eye lightly. "I think I can convince Madam Pomfrey to let me out a few days early."

"That's brilliant mate, let's just hope you can manage it," he smiled slightly. "So what have you been up to all day?"

Harry sighed wearily, "Do you really want to know?"

"Well, I don't think you had anything interesting to say since you've been stuck here all week."

"Malfoy paid me a little visit earlier."

"Wow, and you're not screaming like a madman about how much of a smarmy git he is…" Neville trailed off when he saw Harry's serious face. '_Okay, message received; not a good time to try and be funny_.' "What did he want?"

"To extend a white flag of sorts, if you can believe that." Harry shook his head.

"And what do you think?"

"Honestly? I don't know…" Harry touched his covered eye again. "I mean we've been at each other's throats since first year, it's just hard to believe that he would back down just like that."

"Well mate, you did almost kill him…" Harry gave him a hard glare. "Notice how I said _almost_. Anyway I'd think he would rather be in your good graces than face another duel where he knows he'll surely lose."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "He did say something about underestimating me and he actually admitted that I won the duel."

Neville gave him a blinding smile. "Well there you go, at least now he respects you to some degree, if the acceptance that he lost is anything to go by, let alone admitting it to the very person he lost to. If Malfoy holds his family's traditions as close to heart as any other pureblood then you're good to go."

"I'm still not sure what to do about it."

"Why don't you wait until you see him again and watch how he reacts, then you can go from there?"

Harry nodded again. "Sounds good."

"Alright," Neville said while taking a look at his watch. He still had some time to spare so he could probably make it down to the kitchens before rushing to Divination. He stood up when another thought crossed his mind. If Harry was willing to work things out with Draco maybe he'd also be willing to talk to Daphne. "Can I ask you something?"

"You already did." Harry smirked slightly.

"Don't be a smart arse! I'm trying to be serious here." Harry shook his head and shrugged motioning for his friend to continue. "Now that things are kind of good with Malfoy, don't you think you should talk to Daphne?"

Harry's demeanour darkened. "I don't want to talk about it."

"But Harry she knows it was wrong to get in the way—"

"I said I don't want to talk about it." Harry voice came out a little more forceful, but it wasn't with the same blind anger as other times. He stood up and started pacing again.

Neville shook his head sadly. He was really trying not to pick a side here but Harry was being as stubborn as a bull about the whole situation. Sure he should be mad at his cousin, but telling her what he thought about the whole thing was the right way to go in his opinion, not that it mattered apparently.

"At least think about it?" Neville pleaded to his friend.

Harry stopped pacing and looked at Neville. "I can't promise anything right now."

Neville sighed but nodded. He really hoped that with time they would solve things because being in the middle wasn't really fun at all.

"Well, I'm heading of to the Kitchens and after that to Divination," Neville said walking back slowly. "Do you need anything before I come back after class?"

Harry though for a moment, "Well if you could swing by the Library and tell Madam Pince I need some books on the Potter family tree, I would be eternally grateful."

"You got it mate, I'll be back later."

"Thanks Neville."

Neville waved him off and walked out the Hospital Wing. Why did Harry have to be so stubborn? He knew he couldn't force him to talk to Daphne but seeing as talking to Malfoy had apparently gone better than expected he had been sure that his friend would've been more open to fixing things up with his cousin.

He sighed and walked with a hurried step towards the Kitchens. He really hopped Daphne was thinking up ways to make Harry listen or their whole idea of helping him through the tournament would be an incredibly awkward, and likely failure-ridden affair.

After his visit to the Kitchens where the house-elves gave him enough food to feed a small army Neville all but ran to his next class. He arrived at the Divination classroom with a few minutes to spare, puffing and panting like a maniac. He sat with Dean and Seamus when he noticed that Millicent was already sitting with Daphne and Pansy.

They all knew that the class was a joke. The Professor was a fraud who probably hadn't made a real prediction in her life, but they were still forced to take the class. If they'd known that the class was a farce many students would've probably signed for one of the other electives.

Once the class was over he hurriedly left the room. He was sure Daphne would try and talk to him and convince him to pass a message along to Harry again. He really felt sorry for her, but taking a note from her only for Harry to rip it up without reading it was just a waste of time. He didn't really have the heart to tell his cousin just what became of all of her letters, so instead he was doing all he could to avoid her.

Neville made his way towards the Library. He was glad that Harry was finally looking into his family history. Every family had its own set of rules and traditions, and while they all had many in common some were more extreme than others… but they all basically went along the same lines. It was always good to know which side of the fence your family had taken on important issues.

Once he reached the Library he started roaming the bookshelves. He found the book that Harry had asked for and upon seeing the book about the Black Family as he was heading back out of the stacks he decided to take it as well knowing that Harry was surely related to them. The majority of the oldest wizarding families were related one way or another.

Neville took the books to the front desk and gave the librarian a shy smile. "Harry asked me to fetch these books for him."

Madam Pince returned the smile. "Tell Mr Potter that I hope he feels better soon."

"I sure will."

The librarian gave him a short nod and returned to whatever it was she was doing before he interrupted her. He took the books and tucked them under his arm. Neville was about to walk out the doors when he was stopped short by the presence of the Headmaster.

Neville shrank back and a slight blush tinged his cheeks. It was a rare sight to see Professor Dumbledore roaming the halls; he was usually locked up in his office except for the times he was seen in the Great Hall during meals.

"Good evening Mr Longbottom," the Headmaster addressed Neville pleasantly. "I was wondering if I could steal a few minutes of your time…"

Neville gulped nervously. This was bad. From what he'd overheard from Hermione, the cautious words from Sirius, and later Harry concerning his glasses, he wasn't sure he wanted to be anywhere near the twinkling-eyed man.

"S-sure Sir," Neville stuttered slightly. Professor Dumbledore gave him a small smile and motioned for Neville to follow him. He wondered if they were going to his office or just someplace 'quiet'.

Neville's mind was going a mile a minute. What did the Headmaster want with him? He hadn't done anything that required his presence and it was making him really nervous. He had a sinking feeling in his gut that their little 'conversation' was going to have something to do with Harry.

After a long walk they reached the Headmaster's office and went up the stairs once the Professor gave the password. Neville took the seat the Professor offered and shrunk back into it trying to get as far away from the man across from him as he could.

"Lemon drop?" the Headmaster offered as he waved his hand over the candy filled bowl.

Neville shook his head sharply. "No thanks, Sir."

Professor Dumbledore gave him a small smile. "Mr Longbottom I was wondering if you could tell me why Mr Potter left strict instructions not to allow anyone to visit him at the infirmary."

Neville gulped loudly. He knew it! This was all just to get information out of him. The question was why? Neville lowered his eyes and started fidgeting with the hem of his jumper nervously. "I really don't know, I guess he just wanted some privacy…"

"It is rather curious that he banned everyone except for you and Miss Bulstrode."

"W-well, Millicent does take him his assignments and I usually go to the Library to gather the books he needs to complete them."

"Why isn't Miss Granger taking him his assignments? She always had Harry's best interest at heart…"

Now Neville was sure he was fishing for information, everyone at school knew that Harry wasn't talking to Ron and Hermione anymore.

"I don't really know, Sir."

Professor Dumbledore gave him a curious look; his light blue eyes twinkled slightly behind his half moon glasses. His eyes were averted momentarily to Neville's lap. "I don't recall any assignments requiring books on family trees."

Neville lowered his eyes again; this was getting ridiculous. The Headmaster raised a questioning eyebrow.

Neville shrugged. "I don't really know Sir, I'm just doing my friend a favour."

"Very well then," Professor Dumbledore's brow furrowed slightly. "Off you go, do tell Mr Potter that once he's released from the Hospital Wing I expect him to catch up in all his classes."

"I'll let him know." Neville nodded and stood up stuffing the books in his schoolbag. He all but ran to the door and was stopped shortly when the Headmaster addressed him again.

"I appreciate your help Mr Longbottom."

Neville gave a sharp nod and pulled the thick wooden door open and walked out the office. What the hell was going on? He ran all the way back to the Hospital Wing. Harry wasn't going to be happy once he heard what the Headmaster had said.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore sighed tiredly. Things were slowly but surely getting out of his control. He had counted on Miss Granger to watch over the Potter boy and it seemed he had dipped his hand to far with her. Now he had to go out of his way to find out what was really going on… Mr Longbottom was no help at all and with the boy avoiding his eyes it was impossible for him to peak into his mind.

He had been so sure that Miss Granger had everything under control. She had been his eyes during the last three years where Mr Potter was concerned. Sure he had used her insecurities about the treatment of muggleborns in the wizarding world to get her to do what needed to be done, but there were greater things at work than a girl's worries.

Oh she was as clever as they came, book wise that is. If only the girl had researched farther she would have seen that there were several laws established after the fall of Voldemort that allowed muggleborns to take Ministry jobs. There were certain limitations yes, but generally speaking they were treated as equals.

When she came to him with her concerns during her first year he had taken the opportunity that had presented itself. Even when the wizarding world thought he was almighty and invincible he was still just a wizard, and he couldn't be watching over Harry all the time without raising suspicion not only from the boy himself, but his staff and other parties interested in Harry's development.

Albus had to keep an eye on young Harry, and what better way than Miss Granger? She was quite clever and something would surely rub off on Harry where academics were concerned.

Albus had made sure that Harry's name would come out of the Goblet of Fire. The Triwizard Tournament had been his idea to begin with. He needed to test Harry and what better way than a tournament? What he didn't anticipate was young Mr Diggory being named Hogwarts champion, but in the end Harry was participating, and that was all that really mattered.

In hindsight it had been an abysmal mistake telling Hermione Granger that Mr Potter had indeed entered his name in the goblet. Albus had been surprised and not in a pleasant way when she hadn't reacted like he had expected; neither had Harry for that matter. At the time he had planned it out it seemed almost perfect in theory; he had wanted to test Harry's resilience and his reaction to working alone. After all, if a war broke out like he expected then Harry needed to trust and rely in himself only; anyone else could turn their backs on him at any given moment.

But he had completely underestimated his student. After all the work he had put into keeping Harry isolated and completely focused, with only Miss Granger and Mr Weasley's friendships to rely on… it had completely backfired. Albus hadn't counted on Harry making new friends.

He had been sure that after being treated like dirt by the rest of the school Harry would have forgiven his friends and welcomed them back with open arms, but oh how wrong things had gone. He had to admit that Harry had demonstrated great potential during the first task — that kind of power was rare for someone so young, but he had to admit that he was a bit fearful of said potential, and now without his friends there to guide him and keep him on the right path it was surely a recipe for disaster. Dumbledore was sure Harry's new friends would encourage him to delve deeper into all types of magic, and he wasn't sure that he wanted that; the last thing Albus wanted was another Dark Lord on his hands. On the contrary, this slip of a boy was destined to defeat a Dark Lord, not become one.

He would admit, if only to himself, that leaving Harry with his muggle relatives wasn't one of his most brilliant ideas. They were the worst kind of people, but it was too late to move him to another home… the blood wards he'd set before he'd left Harry in their care were the only things that had kept the boy alive for so long.

Albus took off his glasses and sighed in frustration. He had to find a way to keep an eye on the boy. Some would say he was overstepping his bounds as Headmaster where Harry was concerned, and they would be entirely right. He had indeed broken several laws, but being the boy from the prophecy merited those measures.

Albus could justify himself until he was blue in the face but the truth was that he wanted to keep the boy under his control. During Harry's first year he should have sent him straight to Madam Pomfrey. He was such a small and frail looking boy for his age; he even looked a bit malnourished. That could've been easily fixed with a few potions and healthy meals but he had stayed quiet, and every teacher had done the same — following his 'wise' lead.

He didn't want to know what would happen if Harry ever found out how much he had interfered in his life. Every year Albus had tested him one way or another, and to his delight the boy always came out on top. It worried him that he would become too powerful to control, or that's what he said every time he felt the guilt creep up. That's how he justified keeping him weak, vulnerable, and isolated.

Albus knew for certain that Harry was truly the one prophesied to take down the Dark Lord and as much as it pained him, there was still a long way to go. He just hoped that one day Harry would find it in himself to forgive a tired old wizard's mistakes.

He sighed to himself and ordered the paperwork in front of him into neat piles before removing his glasses once again and rubbing his eyes. He was getting old. He knew that, and he was certainly not the wizard he used to be. He looked over at his long-time companion Fawkes and gave a small smile. "Everything will work out fine in the end, won't it old friend."

The curve of his lips slowly died when the phoenix did nothing but stare at Dumbledore, until a frown marred his brow. He shook his head as guilt and uncertainty started to creep up on him again. No, he was doing the right thing. He'd faced Grindelwald and had defeated the Dark Lord with his own two hands. He didn't know of a single person who could boast the same knowledge, wisdom, or experience to handle the situation with Harry. He couldn't be wrong. There was no room in his plans for him to be wrong.

He pulled himself wearily to his feet and shuffled over to the door that led to his small bedroom before quickly transfiguring his robes into comfortable nightwear. Despite the fact that it was only seven o'clock in the evening it had been a long day, especially with trying to squeeze information out of Poppy who had seemed to have grown a backbone overnight. Of all the times she had to be stubborn in releasing Harry's medical information it had to be the time where it was most important that he have it. Couldn't she see that?

He sighed again as his head came to rest against his pillow and closed his eyes. He'd heard a saying once; 'Tigers at night, kittens in the morning'.

He hoped to heaven that it was true.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: All characters, places, and anything familiar from the Harry Potter books and movies belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros.**

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update but I had another busy month. Thanks to my wonderful beta KennethRose. Also thanks to all the people who read, reviewed, followed and favorited the story. Hope everyone enjoys the long chapter!**

* * *

_**Chapter 10**_

Harry was sitting in his assigned hospital bed waiting for Neville and Millicent to arrive. Suffice to say that he was extremely bored. The fact that he'd been stuck in a bed for a week and hadn't gotten much more than a very, very, very supervised stroll to the end of the hospital wing and back might also have had something to do with it. He had tried talking to the matron a while ago about getting an early release and finally got her to agree after some very subtle hints about house-elves, his broomstick, and the window that she sometimes left open.

Madam Pomfrey had assessed him with her scrutinizing eyes and forced him to read from a poster with words in different sizes she'd hung in a wall just for him. At least his uncovered eye was all healed up. She promised that tomorrow she would take the bandage off and make him read the poster once again to test his other eye.

The window had been conspicuously closed ever since.

But Harry had readily agreed; he had no intention of escaping and risking more confinement now that he actually had a date to look forward to. Now he was just waiting for his friends to arrive so he could tell them the good news.

* * *

Neville ran all the way from the Headmaster's office and arrived at the infirmary out of breath. He pulled the doors wide open with a bang, walking in with his face flushed and looking like he'd just ran a marathon. Harry looked up from his bed and gave him a curious look while thinking to himself that wizards and witches seriously needed to think about physical conditioning. Neville took notice that the matron was missing yet again and approached Harry cautiously.

"How was Divination?" Harry's voice was laced with amusement and Neville rolled his eyes. It was well known that the Divination Professor had a sick fascination with Harry. It seemed that predicting the worst possible ways Harry was going to die was her favourite pastime, and today had been particularly harrowing.

Neville took out the books he had fetched from the Library and tossed them in front of Harry. He took a deep breath. "Quite boring actually…"

"Why did you run all the way back then? There really was no rush."

"I ran into Professor Dumbledore on my way out the Library…" he said in one breath. "He made me go to his office."

Harry's face turned sour. "What did he want?"

Neville shook his head and sat in one of the chairs near Harry's bed. "He was fishing for information about you. He asked why you weren't letting anyone visit you."

"Well to be quite honest I'm not surprised he's digging for information; it's not often that he, the Headmaster, isn't allowed in here." Neville's eyes bulged slightly. Why wasn't Harry going off over this? Surely he'd be furious that the Headmaster was using one of his friends to get information on him.

"That's not all… he asked why only Millicent and I were allowed in. He even asked why Hermione wasn't the one bringing your assignments." Neville shook his head slightly. "As if he wouldn't know you aren't speaking to her or something."

"And what did you say?" Neville noticed that Harry's voice was getting a little rough but again he somehow managed to control his temper.

"That I didn't know. He finally let me go once he found out I wasn't going to tell him anything."

"Good."

"That's all?" Neville gave him a sceptical look.

"What do you want me to say? I can't stop him from asking questions…" Harry gave a light shrug.

"Well, when you put it that way…"

Harry glanced briefly towards the entrance of the Hospital Wing. "What do you think is taking Millicent so long?"

"I guess she's still having dinner down at the Great Hall."

"Right, I forgot. I'm just going out of my mind here, it's so boring."

"You don't have to tell me twice mate!"

They sat in silence for a few minutes when Neville decided to speak again, "So… have you decided who you're asking to the Yule Ball?"

Harry shook his head and groaned; it wasn't something Harry really wanted to talk about and Neville took great pleasure making his friend squirm.

"You do know it's not an option for you right?" Neville teased. Professor McGonagall had left strict instructions with Madam Pomfrey to pass along to Harry shortly after the Yule Ball was announced. Harry hadn't been entirely happy when he found out he had to attend since he was one of the champions and, worst of all, he had to find himself a date.

"I think this is the worst part of the tournament… I'd much rather face dragons all over again if it gets me out of the blasted ball."

Neville laughed heartily. "Don't worry mate, I'm sure you'll have lots of birds lining up just for the chance to go with a Triwizard Champion!"

"Neville! It really isn't funny!"

"What's not funny?" a voice asked from the entrance of the infirmary.

"Nothing!" both boys called out at the same time.

Millicent gave them a suspicious look but said nothing while she walked up to them carrying Harry's assignments for the day. They talked for a while and the topic of dates and, much to Harry's relief, the ball wasn't mentioned again.

Millicent was not amused when they told her that the Headmaster had all but ambushed Neville for information, but both of the Blackthorns had to leave once Madam Pomfrey came to check on her patient and told them that visiting hours were over for the day.

Both students walked for a while until they had to separate to go to their own common rooms. "What do you think about the whole situation with Professor Dumbledore?"

Neville stopped walking and turned to look at Millicent. "I really don't know what to think. I do find it a bit suspicious but then again being barred from going in the infirmary would make anyone curious."

"It's just," Millie shook her head, "I just don't trust him. There's something off about the Headmaster but I can't put my finger on it."

Neville nodded in agreement. "Why don't you let Daphne know and see what she thinks about it? Right now there's nothing we can do."

"Alright. You know she isn't going to be happy about Professor Dumbledore cornering you for information, right?"

Neville let out a tired sigh. "You don't have to remind me. I'd feel the same if she was in my place."

Millie snorted slightly crossing her arms over her chest. "That's an understatement."

Neville laughed quietly; he could actually see his cousin's face after Millicent told her what went down today in his mind, and it was definitely not a happy face. He said goodbye to Millicent and told her he'd see her in the morning. He walked cautiously through the quiet halls; after the short conversation with Millicent and thanks to his vivid imagination and extreme paranoia he expected the Headmaster to jump him at any moment from behind a statue or around the corners, but he finally relaxed once he reached the portrait of the Fat Lady still with no Headmaster in sight.

He climbed the stairs to the fourth years' floor without stopping in the common room first. He had many ideas running around in his head and wasn't really in the mood to socialize at the moment. He had to admit that the talk with the Headmaster left him a bit rattled. What was he really up to? He knew Harry was partially right when he said that it was probably just curiosity but after all the warnings they were given they ought to be cautious around him.

Neville found the room empty and sighed in relief. He tossed his schoolbag on his bed and went through his trunk pulling his nightclothes out. He changed and went to sit on the edge of his bed. He wasn't really tired but it had been a long and strange day. He couldn't get his mind around the fact that the Headmaster would go out of his way to be invasive when it was anything related to his friend, and that in itself worried him. He was the Headmaster, sure, but one would think he wouldn't have enough time to stick his nose into Harry's business what with his Mugwump post with the ICW and being the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and yet somehow he still managed to be around Harry conveniently after things managed to go wrong.

Neville tossed the covers off his bed and lay down, his eyes lost and unfocused. He tried to relax but his muscles were still tense. Neville sighed tiredly, the questions still rolling around in his head.

He looked at all the facts and didn't like what they meant. Neville knew Professor Dumbledore wasn't just the Headmaster of Hogwarts, and because of his huge reputation and influence some people even saw him as someone infallible and maybe even omniscient, which was more than a little worrying. Neville knew it was impossible for the man to be a god but it scared him nonetheless. Professor Dumbledore was what many called the 'Leader of the Light' and even though the Longbottoms were a light family they had at times associated with gray families. There were a few instances where they even sided with dark families depending on the situation at the time.

Neville shook his head trying to clear his mind, but it was in vain. If Daphne managed to pull through with her plan to form a society within the Blackthorns of Gray with the goal to change the wizarding world from the side-lines then Professor Dumbledore could be a big problem; with all the support he garnered he could very well stop them before they even began. And if a war broke out he could still pose a very big threat with his 'second chance' motto and the notion of not stooping to the enemy's level, leaving the light side like sitting ducks.

Neville rolled around in his bed and closed his eyes. He made a mental note to tell Harry everything he thought about Professor Dumbledore. Maybe he was wrong and the Headmaster was just a curious old wizard but he wasn't willing to take any chances.

* * *

After his friends left Harry felt the boredom creeping back in. He was tired and annoyed. And what was even more frustrating was that he didn't even know why he was tired since he hadn't done any training since he'd gotten stuck in the infirmary.

His mind was swirling with all the possible reasons why Professor Dumbledore would ambush Neville to ask him about why he didn't want any visitors. If he was honest with himself it made him nervous. Why was it that when he found himself in trouble the professor was always absent but arrived the moment after the danger passed? There was a pattern if he really looked at all those times he managed to get in trouble.

There was that time during first year with the Philosopher's Stone. How he came upon the Mirror of Erised and how Professor Dumbledore conveniently found him entranced by it days later. How it was all connected to the Stone in the first place. And when they realized someone was after the stone they tried to warn the Headmaster only to find out he had left for London. And on top of that, how could a group of first years beat all the obstacles designed for a grown wizard? Now that Harry thought about it the puzzles seemed to be suspiciously designed to fit his, Ron's, and Hermione's specialties.

Then there was second year and the whole Chamber of Secrets business. How could the Headmaster not know there was a giant snake roaming around the halls when he alluded that he always knew what was going around Hogwarts… and hiring Professor Lockhart; that was something that everybody but his enamoured fans saw as a complete and utter joke. Surely the Headmaster saw through all the lies and still deferred to him when a student was 'abducted' by the monster.

If he didn't know any better he would think that Professor Dumbledore was somehow testing him in some way. Why else would he tell Hermione that he tossed his name in the goblet when he said he believed him? Hell, he'd even reassured he'd find the culprit, and nodded his head with his grandfatherly smile.

And on top of all those things there was Sirius' warning. There had to be a way to find out what Professor Dumbledore was up to. Maybe have one of the house-elves spy on him? It wasn't one of his best ideas but they had found out about the first task that way. He would tell Neville to talk to Cotton if he wasn't released the next morning to go to the kitchens himself.

After a while Harry's thoughts turned back to the duel and Malfoy's visit earlier that day. Deep down he really didn't want anything to do with Malfoy but then he remembered Sirius words. He needed to expand his social circle and, like it or not, the Malfoys were a powerful family even if they were arrogant and had a moral compass so screwed up he was surprised they could find their own bloody home. Harry still had many issues and reservations about them but for now he was willing to see how Malfoy acted around him and, like Neville told him earlier, go from there.

Harry knew he was going easy on Malfoy, especially as his extended stay in the Hospital Wing was his fault to begin with, _'Daphne's too'_, a tiny voice in his head supplied. He recalled Neville's face when he pleaded to just talk to his cousin after he tore up all those notes she sent. Many would say that he was being unreasonable, more so if he was willing to put his animosity towards Malfoy aside, but she had hurt him deeply and if he was honest, Malfoy had always been an arse and knew what to expect every time they crossed paths. Daphne on the other hand, was willing to break the rules during an honour duel to defend a person like Malfoy. She knew Harry couldn't stand him and yet she went out of her way for the blond twit. The feelings of hurt and betrayal just wouldn't leave him alone.

Harry shook his head. He still wasn't ready to open that can of worms. For now he was just going to ignore her until he was ready to face her again.

He sat back on the bed and grabbed the books Neville had left for him. He noticed an old worn book he hadn't asked for. He flipped the cover and read the title, _The Black Family History_. Why had Neville signed it out? Yes, Sirius Black was his godfather but apart from that there was no relation between him and the Blacks, at least none that he knew of, which honestly wasn't much.

He scanned the index and turned several pages until he found the family tree. It was quite extensive and Harry took notice that there were a lot of known pureblood last names scattered throughout the tree. He did a double take when he saw his name. _'What the hell?'_ His godfather was his cousin? They apparently shared the same great-grandparents. He remembered Neville telling him many families were related but this meant that he did have family besides the Dursleys… he could've lived with any of these families and he had been stuck with the awful muggles all this time?

Harry was silently fuming while he searched through the family tree. To his surprise he was also closely related to Malfoy while Neville and Daphne were farther apart. It was kind of surreal but maybe Neville had a reason why he decided to sign out the book after all.

He closed the book quite forcefully. Didn't his parents leave a will or something? Surely leaving him with the Dursleys was something of a last resort, right? Harry contemplated writing Sirius a letter but it would probably be easier to just ask Neville in the morning who he had to talk to or where to go concerning his parents will. _'If there even was one'_, he thought bitterly.

Harry tossed the book aside and grabbed the one with the history on the Potters. He lay back against the headboard and started to read, the situation with Dumbledore all but forgotten.

* * *

Harry woke up earlier than usual. He was full of energy and the only thing he wanted was to get out of the Hospital Wing, preferably today. When Madam Pomfrey finally came around he was already sitting on his bed waiting for her.

"Well aren't we a little ball of sunshine this morning? I assume all this pent up energy is related to your impeding release?"

"You have no idea," Harry muttered under his breath.

The matron gave a soft laugh. "Well, lets take this off so I can test your eyesight. I have to say yesterday I was quite impressed with your improvement, let's just hope it's the same for this one."

Harry beamed at her. At the moment the only thing he wanted was to get on with the test and return to his regular schedule, and on top of that he still had to figure out the clue for the second task and ask Cotton to spy on Professor Dumbledore. _'And you have yet to find a date for the ball'_, his mind supplied making him cringe slightly.

"Can we get on with it already?"

"Patience is a virtue!" Madam Pomfrey scolded Harry sternly. "If you want me to let you out today I suggest you don't pester me!"

Harry blushed but nodded eagerly. He waited patiently while the matron took the patch off. His eye started to water immediately once Madam Pomfrey uncovered it. "It will take a few minutes for your eye to adjust to the light, take it easy alright?" She saw Harry nod. "I'll be back in a moment to test you."

* * *

He was finally free! Harry was walking to Gryffindor Tower with a slight spring in his step. It was still quite early and most of the students were either still asleep or getting ready to head to the Great Hall for breakfast.

When he reached the portrait the Fat Lady greeted him with a smile and welcomed him back. Harry stepped through the portrait hole and scanned the common room noticing it was still rather empty.

The few students that were already up glanced at him and did a double take when they saw it was him. He'd been confined in a hospital bed for over a week and he was now sporting a very thin scar across his right eye, so he wasn't too surprised at the reactions he was receiving. It was still an angry red but Madam Pomfrey assured him that with time it would become practically invisible, but for now there was nothing to do but bear the stares from the other students… but that didn't mean they could gawk at him as if he was some sort of rare animal.

Harry shuffled uncomfortably and headed for the stairs. It surprised him when Seamus and Dean welcomed him back quite enthusiastically right after he walked through the door that lead to their dorm he shared with them. One would think he was gone for more than a week. Harry snorted when he saw Ron was still snoring away in his bed and turned to Neville who just patted him in the back and gave him a curious look since he was still wearing his glasses. He shook his head and mouthed 'later'. None of his roommates mentioned the new scar, which he was somewhat relived about.

Harry took a quick bath and got ready for the day. He told Neville once they were alone that wearing his glasses was a way to gain an slight advantage if he ever lost them in a duel, and that he was heading straight for the kitchens to avoid the rest of the school; even with his great mood he wasn't willing to submit himself to the students gawking at him all over again. Plus he wanted to ask Cotton to listen in on Dumbledore's conversations.

Neville offered to go with him but Harry asked him if he could go to the Great Hall and let Millicent know he was already out. Neville agreed once Harry told him he'd surely see him during classes and promised they would meet after the school day had finished in their abandoned classroom to resume their training.

* * *

Daphne was on her way to Charms with the Ravenclaws after spending some time in the Library completing her Potions assignment that morning. Millicent had told her last night what had happened to Neville. She had fumed and ranted while her friend watched on with an amused grin on her face. She hadn't found the situation funny at all and had promised to find a way to discover what the Headmaster was up to.

She had woken up the next morning in a somewhat better mood than most days that past week but it was still nowhere near her usual disposition. She had gone through the motions of showering and getting dressed and thought about skipping breakfast again but decided at the last moment to head to the Great Hall.

While she had been moving the food around in her plate Millie sat down in the place next to hers and told her in a hushed voice that Harry had been finally released earlier that day from the Hospital Wing.

Daphne had yet to see him but in a way it was a relief that he was finally out of the infirmary. She had been ecstatic in fact, but the guilt she carried around was still weighting her down, which in turn made her feel tired and depressed. She knew she still looked like death warmed over but there was nothing she could do until she talked to Harry.

She was walking down one of the crowded hallways with thoughts of Harry running around in her head while trying not to bump into other people when she rounded a corner and collided with another student. She heard a soft grunt and when she opened her mouth to apologize she saw who it was and changed her words.

"You should watch where you're going." Daphne grumbled, seeing Hermione's eyes widen when she recognized her voice. She was about to sidestep the bushy haired Gryffindor when she heard her mutter under her breath.

"Stuck-up Snake…"

Daphne froze where she was standing. Oh this was not what she needed today. She wasn't really in any sort of mood to deal with the scorned Gryffindor but she simply couldn't allow the bookworm to get away with such a comment.

"What did you just call me?" Daphne hissed under her breath.

Hermione blushed from her neck up but stuck her chin out defiantly when she answered, "You heard me."

"Did you just call me a stuck-up?"

"I don't see anyone else that matches that description." Hermione said placing her hands on her hips.

Daphne pulled a lose strand of dark hair behind her ear while smirking slightly, "Where do you get off calling _me_ that? Have you looked in the mirror lately?"

Hermione glanced around and took a nervous step back. "I don't know what Harry sees in you, you're just a manipulative Slytherin."

"That's none of your business!" Harry was a touchy subject for Daphne at the moment, and Granger had unknowingly hit a nerve. She saw the Gryffindor's eyes shine with contained mirth — or not.

"Why so defensive? Are the rumours true then? I heard you weren't even allowed to visit _your_ _friend_ in the Hospital Wing?" Hermione said in a mocking tone.

Daphne felt the heat rise to her face. All she wanted to do was wring the arrogant girl's neck. What did she know anyway? She was just lashing out because she was no longer on speaking terms with Harry. Still what Granger said touched the part of her that was deeply hurt by Harry's rejection.

This time Daphne was the one to look around noticing several students walking slower than usual to witness the shouting match. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Oh! It's true then? I though they were just rumours… I guess Harry finally opened his eyes and found out you really aren't worth his time!"

At that moment Daphne saw red. It didn't even cross her mind to reach for her wand. She went straight for Hermione's hair.

Hermione let out a startled yelp and tried to get out of the fuming Slytherin's way but she wasn't fast enough. Daphne managed to get a handful of bushy brown hair and pulled with all her strength.

"Let go!" Hermione screeched while several students stood with open mouths watching the ensuing fight.

"Take it back!" Daphne said pulling Hermione's hair again. When Hermione just kept yelling to let go she pulled harder until the Gryffindor had enough and decided to fight back.

Hermione pushed Daphne, who somehow lost her balance and fell backwards, hitting the ground with a painful thud.

Hermione straddled Daphne's waist pulling the Slytherin's hair in return. Daphne started clawing at Hermione trying in vain to get her off. They were both screaming unintelligible words at the top of their lungs when suddenly Hermione was dragged off of her.

Daphne looked around in confusion her eyes widening at the sight before her. She saw Ronald Weasley holding the demented Gryffindor in a tight embrace whispering something near her ear to keep her from jumping her again. Who would've thought the brash blood-traitor wasn't into girls fighting in the corridors?

At the moment she was just grateful that it wasn't a professor that caught them fighting in the hallway. Movement to the right caught her eyes and she turned her head slightly. There was someone offering her a hand. She took it gratefully and hissed when pain shot through her lower back when she got up.

"Are you alright?" A deep voice questioned her. She noticed it had a thick foreign accent but paid it no mind. She had other things to worry about.

Daphne shook her head slightly. She had probably pulled something when she took that nasty fall. "My back hurts."

"Let me take you to the Hospital Wing, yes?"

She nodded, her mind still in a daze after her fight with Granger. She was nothing like this, she was well aware this reaction was uncalled for but she had just exploded and reacted without another thought. Granger had some nerve calling her out on her situation with Harry when it was a well-known fact that the Gryffindor herself was no longer in Harry's good graces. _'Neither are you'_, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Neville's answered in her head.

Daphne shook her head slightly while the Durmstrang student guided her slowly towards the infirmary. She looked at the person walking beside her and her eyes widened when it dawned on her that she was holding Victor Krum's hand.

Daphne immediately blushed, completely conscious of his hand still holding hers. She really hoped he didn't think she was a silly schoolgirl, or worse, a troublemaker. She blushed again. How many other students had seen the confrontation? Fighting was unbecoming of someone of her station and if her parents ever found out they would surely punish her.

She was jolted back to reality when they arrived at the Hospital Wing. Once Madam Pomfrey saw them she immediately started asking the usual questions.

"Dear girl, what on earth happened to you?"

Daphne sat down in one of the beds with the help of Viktor. "Just a little spat in one of the hallways…" her voice trailed off.

"Children these days…" Madam Pomfrey tsked disapprovingly, "Why were you fighting in the first place? And are those scratches on your neck?"

Daphne avoided looking at the matron, instead focusing on a spot on the wall. This whole situation was really embarrassing. She was no longer a little girl, and even back then she had never lashed out at someone like that before.

"I think I pulled a muscle on my lower back…" Daphne said barely above a whisper.

Madam Pomfrey turned to the Durmstrang champion for answers. Surprisingly he was more than willing to convey what he saw.

"I was on my way to the Library when she…" he looked at Daphne waiting for something. It occurred to her that he probably didn't know her name.

She looked back at him and then turned away. "I'm Daphne Greengrass."

Viktor inclined his head slightly and continued, "When Miss Greengrass collided with another student. From what I saw the other girl was taunting her, yes?" Viktor looked at Daphne for confirmation.

She nodded and left him to continue his version of events. "They started fighting and the other girl pushed her and Miss Greengrass fell and hit the ground."

Madam Pomfrey gave him a dubious look. "Is that all?"

Viktor gave a sharp nod and stayed silent. The matron huffed but started checking her thoroughly for other injuries. It was kind of ironic that Daphne had tried to visit Harry for the past week, and now that she finally managed to get past the doors it turned out that he'd been released earlier that morning.

"It appears that you did indeed pull a muscle, it must've been quite a nasty fall." Madam Pomfrey looked at her disapprovingly. The gesture just made Daphne feel more uncomfortable than she already felt. And what was the Durmstrang student still doing here? She was very grateful for his help but other than that he was just making her feel awkward and ashamed.

After assessing that all the wounds were superficial, except for her back, Madam Pomfrey gave her a foul tasting potion and sent her on her way making it painfully clear that if she heard that she got into another fight she would report it to her Head of House, or worse the Headmaster.

Daphne nodded reluctantly but stayed silent throughout the matron's speech. If that wasn't embarrassing enough Viktor Krum hadn't left her side during the whole visit to the Hospital Wing.

She walked out the infirmary with her head down in shame. Her parents would surely find out about this but maybe once they knew what really went down they'd take it easy on her. She snorted softly: now that was just wishful thinking. Even if her parents were understanding people compared to most of the pureblood families, they still thought that fighting like a muggle was unbecoming of a lady.

Daphne was so lost in her thoughts that she jumped a little when an arm halted her steps.

"I'm sorry I did not stop the fight sooner." Daphne looked into Viktor's dark eyes and saw sincerity and regret shining back at her.

She nodded and was about to continue on her way when he stopped her again. "I was on my way to the library…" Viktor looked away and shrugged. "I was actually following the girl you got into a fight with."

Daphne shot him a small smile. "You don't really have to tell me anything."

"I know, but I want to…" he replied calmly. "I heard several students say that she was one of the top students in her year and I liked the fact that she paid me no attention," Viktor said finally meeting her eyes.

"Oh my god! You were going to ask her to the Yule Ball weren't you?" Daphne let out an involuntary snicker and immediately covered her mouth in shame while heat rushed to her face. "Sorry, it was not my place to ask such a personal question."

Viktor gave her a soft smile. "Do not apologize, it is partially the truth," he avoided looking her in the eyes, "I actually already asked her."

Daphne shook her head slightly her eyes wide in surprise. He had already asked her? How had Granger managed to get herself a respectable date? "Still, I shouldn't have said that, or laughed about it either." Daphne managed to say in a small voice.

"I wanted to thank you," he continued, taking her small hand in both of his. "If it weren't for you I would not have known what kind of girl she was. I thought that what people were saying about her and Harry Potter were just students being jealous of her."

Daphne shook her head and took her hand out of his but smiled slightly. "I'm glad getting into a fight at least cleared things up for you… but I did hit her first."

"But she was taunting you and she ended up hitting you as well, yes?"

"Let's say we don't really see eye to eye at the moment," '_if ever'_, her mind supplied. Daphne was tempted to tell him the whole story but being petty wasn't really her thing even when the bushy haired Gryffindor deserved it. What Granger had said really hurt her deeply. At the very least she was kind of pleased that Viktor had witnessed the fight if only just to realize that Hermione Granger wasn't the prim clever girl she portrayed to be around school.

"Well going to the ball with her will surely ruin my night." Viktor confided with a low tone of voice and a small smirk on his face. "I wonder how will she react if I tell her I can't go with her after all."

"I don't rightly know and, well… I really have to get to class… I'm already twenty minutes late as it is, but thank you again for helping me back there." She really wanted to get out of there. He was being all nice and sweet even when she probably looked a mess. And by direction the conversation was taking it sounded as if he wanted to ask her instead and she wasn't willing to find out as of yet.

"It was the least I could do."

Daphne blushed again. She was really horrified with how her body was reacting to him; he would probably assume she was some fan girl with all the blushing but there was nothing she could do but walk away. She wasn't really a fan of Quidditch but she couldn't deny that Viktor Krum was very attractive and quite intimidating at the same time. Still she wasn't sure she wanted to go to the Yule Ball with him, and that was the silent question hanging in the air if her instincts were right.

"I'll see you around." Daphne walked away without looking back. If she'd turned around she would've seen Viktor watching her with a thoughtful look.

* * *

Word had reached Harry about the fight between Daphne and Hermione. There were several versions going around but all had one thing in common: Hermione had insulted Daphne and Daphne had attacked. He still couldn't really wrap his mind around the image of Daphne hitting Hermione with her bare hands but there was always a first time for everything.

Even if he was mad and currently not speaking to Daphne he was still proud that she could take care of herself. What didn't sit well with him was the other rumour running around. Was it really true that Viktor Krum had helped Daphne to the Hospital Wing? He didn't know why but he really wished it was him helping her out, not Krum.

Harry shook his head to clear the unwelcome thoughts. He wanted nothing to do with her right now. He had many things he needed to do and thinking about Daphne wasn't one of them. He reached the Great Hall and went to seat beside Neville at the Gryffindor table.

"Did you hear about the fight—"

"Yes, I already heard and no, I don't really want to talk about it." Harry interrupted Neville. Although secretly he wanted to know everything that went down but he was going to stick by his decision of ignoring anything that had to do with Daphne.

"Alright… whatever you say." Neville shook his head sadly but dropped the subject all the same. He picked up his fork and started eating the food on his plate. After a while he tried to get Harry to talk again. "So, have you narrowed down the possible prospects for a date to the Yule Ball?"

Harry's eyes became as big as saucers and his cheeks tinged pink while he shook his head vehemently.

Neville let out a short laugh. It was quite funny to see his friend all flustered about finding a date. He opened his mouth to speak again but the warning in Harry's eyes stopped him for only a second. "You know, you could ask anyone you wanted, half the girls at school are giving you those looks, if you know what I mean."

Harry snorted shaking his head in denial. "Why would they want to go with me when not even a month ago they all hated my guts?"

"You know how this works, one minute they adore you and the next you're the up and coming Dark Lord."

"Yeah well, I don't fancy going with someone as fickle as the weather. I rather go alone…"

Neville shook his head and tsked at his friend. "You know you can't do that, why don't you let me find you someone that's actually worthy of your time?"

Harry raised a sceptical eyebrow. "I doubt you can find someone with those attributes in this school."

Neville playfully punched Harry in the arm. "Seriously mate? I know it's been a rough couple of months—"

Harry shot Neville a withering glare.

Neville gulped nervously, "Alright you've been through hell and back but you can't let them win. We both know you're better than that."

Harry sighed tiredly. "I guess I can let you pick my date if you promise I won't regret it…"

Neville gave a loud cheer and clapped Harry's back.

"And," Harry interrupted Neville's celebration, "Your cousin is off the table."

Neville's eyes widened. "Do you really think I would do that to you when you wont even read her notes?"

"I just wanted to clear that up." Harry averted his eyes feeling a twinge of guilt creep up on him but he wasn't going to back down. Not now and not about this.

"Alright, I promise I'll choose wisely."

Harry laughed a little when Neville bowed his head as if addressing royalty. He really hoped Neville wouldn't mess things up. At least it was one thing less to worry about.

* * *

Hermione ranted all the way to the Library with a subdued and frightened Ron following silently beside her.

"I was this close to reporting her to Professor Dumbledore. What she did…" Hermione shook her head and started walking faster.

"What's the point? They'll surely take points away from Gryffindor too since you were also part of the fight."

"Why Ron, since when are you so worried about house points?" Hermione replied, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

Ron was a little scared of his friend at the moment. Her hair was standing in every direction and looked like it was crackling with electricity. He had seen her push the Slytherin down and was quite shocked that Hermione had it in her to begin with. He loved a good fight just as much as the next male at school but at that moment his mind had disconnected from his body and out of instinct he pulled Hermione of the fallen girl. It had taken every bit of his strength to keep Hermione from going back to hex the Slytherin.

He shook his head and tried to match Hermione's hurried steps. "I knew those rumours were true," she continued with a smug tone. "That's why she lost it. I was right… but I do wonder why Harry isn't talking to her."

"What rumours?" Ron's eyed her curiously. He hadn't heard anything but then again he rarely paid attention to the gossip going around school.

"Oh, you know, that nobody was allowed to visit Harry during his stay at the Hospital Wing. Or that it was all Greengrass' fault."

Ron scratched the back of his head. This was all knew to him. "Well you know how it is: there are always rumours going around school. Hell, at some point I heard Harry had asked you out on a date and we both know that isn't remotely true."

He saw Hermione's eyes harden slightly. What did he say now? She didn't really fancy Harry did she? A small pang of jealousy hit him but he immediately squashed the feeling. He didn't really know the girl walking beside him, not anymore; it was as if this year he was finally seeing the real Hermione.

"Don't be silly, of course that isn't remotely true," Hermione said with a tight voice. Ron's eyes widened. He may be a bit slow when it came to understanding pretty much everything but this was a slap in the face kind of obvious. He wondered what was really going around in Hermione's head lately. Why was she even thinking about dating Harry when they had both accused him of being a liar and a cheat to his face, then there were all the things they'd said behind his back.

Everything had gone downhill since Harry was declared the Fourth Champion. A small part of him wished for things to go back to the way things where before all this Triwizard Tournament nonsense, but as it was he was off the hook with his parents' whole plan to make Harry dissolve the blood feud between their families, at least for the time being. They would probably try to use Ginny in the future if he didn't manage to re-establish his friendship with Harry, and he had no plans to even try in the first place.

Ron had ignored all the letters his mum had sent him. Ginny or the twins were probably keeping her updated with his lack of progress but his mum couldn't risk sending a howler and let half the school know about their plans. And thankfully he wasn't going home during the winter holidays so he wouldn't see them for a long time.

He watched as Hermione practically talked the ear off of herself, and the only thing he wanted to do was head back to the common room or outside, anywhere really, as long as Hermione stayed far away from him. He was still grasping for an excuse when they arrived at the Library.

Hermione walked briskly towards one of the empty tables and started pulling out the books from her bag.

Ron sat down in front of her and scratched the back of his neck. His mind coming up blank; any excuse he could come up Hermione would surely see through. He resignedly let out a sigh and started taking out his own books from his schoolbag.

After a few minutes of trying to make sense of his Potions essay he noticed hushed voices and giggles. They were coming from behind a bookcase full of blushing girls. That could only mean one thing. Krum was near. If he were honest he would admit that he was jealous of his idol. What he wouldn't give for all the fame the Quidditch star possessed. And all the benefits it came with.

A shadow fell over their table and when Ron looked up he came face to face with the Triwizard Champion. Ron flushed red and sputtered. What was he even doing here? He wanted to ask for an autograph but the words just wouldn't come out of his mouth.

"Hello Viktor." Ron's head snapped towards Hermione, since when was his friend on first name basis with the Durmstrang student?

"Good morning Hermy-own-ninny." Krum inclined his head slightly.

"It's Hermione, we already went through this. Several times." Hermione shook her head in exasperation.

"My apologies, I was wondering if I could talk to you in private for a few moments?"

Hermione sighed and nodded her head. She dropped the quill she was holding and stood up, following the retreating champion.

Ron was left with a puzzled look. What the bloody hell was going on? Hermione had never mentioned Krum. He followed them with his eyes. It seemed that whatever Krum was telling Hermione wasn't making her very happy. He contemplated grabbing his stuff and making a run for it but his curiosity won out.

After a few minutes Hermione stomped back to the table. Ron noticed she was practically foaming at the mouth and instantly regretted staying.

"Honestly, who does he think he is? He's not even the best Quidditch player." The venom in Hermione's voice left no doubt in Ron's mind that something ugly had gone down.

Ron was about to speak when Hermione started ranting again, this time at him. "When you ask someone to the ball you don't come back a few days later to take the invitation back!"

Ron spluttered. What was she talking about? He hadn't asked anyone to the ball yet let alone take said invitation back. Hermione's eyes narrowed and Ron noticed a slight glint in her eyes shining through. "Ron," Hermione's voice had gone from maniacal to velvety sweet. "Do you have a date to the ball?"

"Well… I uh…"

"Come on Ron, spit it out, do you have a date yet?" Hermione's voice was taking on a hard tone.

"Well no, not really," Ron finally managed to say. What was going on in that giant brain of hers?

"Hmm." Was all she said, the glint in her eyes was back. That couldn't be good. Ron shuddered involuntarily; he was seriously considering making new friends. Clearly Harry and Hermione were only a risk to his health.

After a few moments Hermione finally spoke, "Well, I guess you just got yourself a date."

Had Hermione gone bonkers? What did she mean by that? Surely she didn't just _tell_ him to go with her, did she? "Um… Hermione, are we going together?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and huffed in irritation. "Really Ron, you can't really be that thick can you?"

He shook his head vehemently. Well he could have done worse, he could have ended up going with Pansy Parkinson or some other slimy Slytherin snake, not that it was remotely possible, but still anything was better than a snake.

* * *

Daphne walked to the Great Hall with Pansy and Millicent beside her. Classes were finally over for the day. She wasn't really hungry but her friends had all but forced her to eat something.

She had caught a glimpse of Harry during Potions class and was horrified that after a whole week in the infirmary he was still sporting an angry looking scar that went down just above his eyebrow all the way down his eye and ending above his cheek. Her stomach had dropped and the guilt had doubled. This was all her fault.

Millie had tried to pacify her telling her that it would probably vanish with time but the slightly nauseating feeling didn't go away. Her friend had looked at her with a small amount of pity in her eyes and that was the last thing Daphne wanted. How could she ever face Harry again? How could he ever forgive her?

All she wanted was to run out the Great Hall and back to her room. She caught Draco's eyes across the table and saw guilt reflected in his blue-gray eyes. She did notice he hadn't taunted Harry during Potions and she assumed that he followed her 'advice' and apologized to Harry. At the very least something good came out of the ugly situation.

She pushed her food around and took small bites but after a few tries she gave up. "Millie, I'm going to lay down for a while, I don't feel very good at the moment."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

Daphne shook her head. Millicent told her earlier that Harry wanted to resume their training and it wasn't fair to Millie to make her go with her instead of helping Harry.

"I'll be fine on my own," Daphne assured Millie smiling sadly and lowering her voice, "You go ahead and help Harry."

Millicent gave her a knowing look. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it."

"If anything comes up you know where to find me."

Daphne nodded and stood grabbing her schoolbag before making her way towards the doors of the Great Hall. She chanced a look towards the Gryffindor table and for a moment she thought she saw Harry looking at her but it was probably wishful thinking.

She was on her way to the Slytherin common room when she changed her mind and decided to take a walk outside instead. It was quite cold being December and all, but at the moment all she wanted was to be alone and she knew there would be a small amount of students in the common room.

Daphne stepped outside, the cold night air hitting her face leaving her breathless. She wrapped her cloak tightly around her and started walking without a destination in mind.

Harry's face kept popping up in her head. Even if he somehow decided to forgive her, how was she ever going to forgive herself? She was probably blowing things way out of proportion but seeing that scar on his face today really hit home how much damage she could have caused, and all for assuming that Harry would severely injure Malfoy. She knew Draco had it coming. Years of taunting and insulting Harry had reached its inevitable climax and she had no right to interfere.

Daphne sighed in defeat and kept walking aimlessly around the frozen grounds. She would keep her word though: she had promised Harry to help him throughout the tournament and even if she had to work around him and avoid being in the same room with Harry she was sure Neville would pass along the necessary information for her to find spells and strategies that would aid him during the upcoming tasks.

Next on her list was finding out what the Headmaster was up to. She had noticed how nervous Millie was when she told her all that went down yesterday, and although Harry had brushed it of as the Headmaster being curious she was almost sure it was anything but innocent inquiry.

She planned to write a letter to her father asking him to snoop around; surely there was something to dig up. Maybe asking Cotton to keep an ear open for any suspicious conversations from Professor Dumbledore would help too.

Her mind made up she decided she was done freezing her arse off. She felt a little lighter as she began walking back towards the castle. The nauseating feeling was all but gone. She was determined to help Harry even if he wanted nothing to do with her ever again. Maybe she was partly doing it to make it up to him but either way she was doing it.

Daphne was so caught up in her head that she didn't notice a figure milling about the entrance of the school. She was a bit startled but kept walking without missing a step. As she approached the doors she finally got to see the face of the person walking back and forth in front of the entrance and she smiled a little.

"What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be in your ship or something?"

Viktor stopped pacing and cleared his throat, "I was waiting for you."

"Oh, well… why were you waiting for me out here?" Daphne approached him slowly.

"I saw you heading out but it looked like you needed some time alone, yes?"

Well at least he left her some time to herself instead of following her. "Um, yes I did."

"I wanted to ask you to the Yule Ball, if you do not have a date that is."

Daphne had to admit she was surprised despite having felt earlier that maybe he wanted to ask her to go with him. "Didn't you say you were going with Hermione Granger?"

"I did, but as I told you before, she was not the girl I thought she was. I talked to her in the Library after our talk in the hallway."

"You actually told her you didn't want to go with her anymore?" If nothing else she felt happy that something in Granger's life hadn't gone right. She knew she was being a bit spiteful but she didn't care. After everything that Granger said Daphne didn't feel an ounce of sympathy for the bushy haired Gryffindor.

Viktor nodded, "And I think she did not take it very well."

Daphne cracked a small smile.

"So, would you do me the honour of accompanying me to the Yule Ball?"

At the moment Daphne didn't have a date, even though some of the male students had asked her over the past week. She was kind of waiting in vain for the raven haired Gryffindor to ask her, and if she kept that up she would surely end up dateless.

"I would love to go to the ball with you."

Viktor smirked slightly and nodded his head. He extended his left arm for her to take. "Let me walk you back to your common room."

"Thank you." Daphne gladly took his arm and walked through the silent corridors.

"If I may be so bold, can you tell me what you said to Granger in the Library?" Nobody would say Daphne Greengrass wasn't a girl first and foremost, after all what was a girl without some amount of gossip in her life?

Viktor gave her an amused smile but tried to answer her question as best as he could. "She asked me why I did not want to go with her anymore."

Daphne's face lit up. It was probably very humiliating and she was almost sure no one from Hogwarts wanted to go with her. She had made herself quite a reputation of being a stuck-up know-it-all that looked down on other students. Not many boys would be willing to subject themselves to that kind of torture. "I can assume she wasn't too happy to hear your reasoning?"

"You assume right. I was very lucky to be in a Library. She could not scream at me if she did not want to get kicked out."

"Oh, that was quite clever of you, there's nothing worse for Hermione Granger than getting kicked out of her sanctuary."

She was surprised they arrived so quickly to the entrance of her common room. _'My how does time fly when you're having fun'_, she thought.

"Can I ask you not to tell your friends about what I told you about Hermy-own-ninny?"

Daphne raised her eyebrows in surprise. During both brief conversations she had with the Triwizard Champion he appeared to have a good grasp of the English language; a bit thick with his Bulgarian accent, and at times it sounded very formal, but not being able to pronounce Granger's mouthful of a name was amusing.

"I promise not to say a thing."

Viktor nodded took her right hand and kissed the back of her palm earning a blush from Daphne. "Will I see you tomorrow at breakfast?"

She nodded not able to form any words. If anything Viktor Krum was the perfect gentleman.

"Goodnight." Daphne finally managed.

"Goodnight." Viktor said before turning around and walking back the way they came from.

She wasn't sure if going with Viktor Krum was the best idea but somehow it felt right. She stated the password to the blank wall and promptly walked in when the wall shifted to reveal the entrance.

She climbed up the stairs to her room and saw that Millicent wasn't back yet. She had seen Tracy and Gracie in the common room leaving only Pansy in the room. "Weren't you coming straight over from the Great Hall? Millie said you weren't feeling very well."

"I just took a walk outside to clear my head."

Pansy gave her a surprised look. "You went outside with this weather?"

Daphne gave a light shrug. It had been cold but the cloak had served its purpose. She sat in her bed finally taking off her shoes.

"So guess who asked me to the ball just now?" Pansy said excitement shining through her eyes.

Daphne wanted to roll her eyes. Pansy was the most transparent girl in the world. It really wasn't hard to guess but decided to tease her friend a bit. "I don't know, Ron Weasley?"

Pansy let out a girlish shriek. "What! Are you out of your mind?"

Daphne laughed at the outraged look on Pansy's face. "Pansy, I'm just messing with you. I know you're going with Draco."

Pansy's mouth dropped open in shock. "How did you know?"

"Are you seriously asking me that?" Daphne said between laughs.

Pansy rolled her eyes and let out an amused giggle. "I had it coming didn't I?"

"Do you really want me to answer that question?"

Pansy shook her head and tossed a pillow at Daphne. Both girls laughed and started talking about what dresses they were going to wear to the ball.

* * *

Harry and Neville arrived at the abandoned classroom after they finished eating dinner. It still looked very much abandoned and it had accumulated a small amount of dust during their weeklong absence.

They immediately started cleaning the place because, to be quite frank, Neville didn't want to start sneezing in the middle of a spell. "You'll be happy to hear that I managed to narrow down your options for a date to two candidates," Neville stated smugly after they finished cleaning.

Harry gave his friend and annoyed look. All he wanted to do was solve the stupid clue for the next task, find out what Dumbledore was up to, and discover how to know if his parents left a will. The blasted ball was the last thing on his mind right now.

"Neville, why did you check out the book about the Black Family?"

Neville furrowed his brow. "Well, I assumed you were probably related to them. I know I am through my paternal great-grandmother's side."

"You honestly didn't know we are kind of related?"

"No…" Neville blinked in surprise several times. "I only heard stories but I never sat and read through any books. I didn't need to seeing as being born in a magical family means we're pretty much tutored in any matters like that."

"I guess you should take a look." Harry pulled the old worn book form his bag and handed it over to Neville. "The family tree is in page 312."

After scanning the tree Neville's eyes widened and started spluttering incoherently. Harry let out an amused laugh.

"I don't actually see what's so funny. My Gran just told me I was related to the Blacks but I never looked it up."

"But you said Daphne was your cousin and see here," Harry said pointing to her name in the book, "She's also there."

"Oh, I'm related to her from both sides? How much weirder can it get?"

"We're both related to Malfoy…" Harry said helpfully.

Neville started spluttering again. "Merlin, I should have read this thing a long time ago. I'm guessing Daphne doesn't know either, or at least not the extent of it."

Harry gave him a sceptical look, "How can you be so sure?"

"Believe me, she would've said something by now."

"I'll take your word for it." Harry shook his head slightly. "I was also wondering why, if I did in fact have other relatives, I was left with the Dursleys? I mean my parents must've left a will or something right?"

Neville looked helplessly at his friend. "I don't really know."

"Do you know who can I talk to about this?"

"Well, assuming your parents left a will it will surely be at the Ministry. All official documents are stored there. I can ask my Gran just to be sure what department manages inheritance and wills."

"Do you really have to ask your Gran?"

"Really Harry, she can probably even set up an appointment and everything if you want."

"Will you do that for me?" Harry's face lit up. If his parents did indeed leave a will maybe he could finally move out from the Dursleys.

"It's really no trouble at all." Neville patted Harry in the back making Harry laugh again. His mood went from barely tolerable to ecstatic after Neville's assurance.

"So what were you saying about my possible date for the ball?"

Neville laughed along Harry as they chatted in the classroom waiting for Millicent to arrive. Harry still had things to do but thanks to Neville there were at least two things he didn't have to worry about anymore.


End file.
